#standingfast

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We're still here. Ask us anything you want :)

Well, at least Justin's still here. I don't know about the others :/

[joanuuu-blog-blog]

You're pretty! Post a picture of yourself?

hey there, anon :)

[standingfast-blog]

Did the Vatican really say that it's more important to advocate against homosexuality and abortion than to help the sick and the poor? If that's true, I am disgustingly ashamed to be Catholic. Have we all forgotten what Christianity, and all religion, is really supposed to be about?

Are you talking about the three non-negotiable?

You know, there are so many really great causes out there.  There are so many organizations (Catholic and non-catholic) dedicated solely to helping the poor.  This is a very important cause and I hope that nobody misunderstands me with what I am about to say.

Abortion 

Abortion is an atrocity.  It should never be legal to kill a completely innocent human being.  This is what abortion is: the legal killing of an innocent unborn human being.  Yes, we (the Church) desire that every man and woman have a comfortable life.  More than that, we desire that every man, woman, and child have food and water to eat.  Even more than that, we desire that nobody be unjustly killed.

Again, although both of these are such great problems in the world we live in, life itself trumps quality of life.  Now, this isn't to say that we shouldn't help the poor.  On the contrary!  The Lord calls us to help those in need!  I love going on missions trips dedicated to helping the poor.  I can honestly say that there is very little on this earth that is more satisfying than helping those in need.  We are all called to do this.

However, if you are referring to the non-negotiable, those are directed at voting.  Basically, we should vote for the candidate willing to put an end to the injustice of abortion before we vote for the one dedicated to giving benefits to the poor.  If you find one with both, more power to ya!

All the Church was saying through that was, actual life > quality of life.

-Jo

Here is a lot of information about the Vatican/LCWR issue by my favorite Catholic blogger, Niko. And no, the Vatican did not say that. The LCWR had been led astray by either poor leadership or other issues within the organization and, though they were helping the sick and poor (rightfully so), they were also undermining the Catholic teachings on homosexuality and birth control and promoting "radical feminist themes incompatible wit the Catholic faith." So, no. It wasn't "advocating against homosexuality and abortion is more important" so much as "you have strayed from Catholic teaching of homosexuality and have adopted radical feminist themes and you need to reassert the Faith."

-Justin

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If a baby is born but denied milk or formula, is this murder, or killing via deprivation of vital substances?

killing via deprivation.... but it's still murder imo.  It isn't as much how you kill somebody, but that you kill somebody.

Is drowning somebody worse than shooting them?  Or poisoning someone worse than strangling them?  Some forms of murder might be more painful to the individual.  They are all, however, murder.

Any thoughts?  Btw, sorry if I just wrecked an argument justin had :/

-Jo

I don't think you did. I'm not sure what argument that would be anyway.

-Justin

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You're a male & have few ideas to how women feel or think. If I was raped I woud have an abortion in a heartbeat if I didn't already die from being mortified. I WOULD get sick if I ever layed eyes on that being, I could never raise a being under that circumstance, I would NOT be proud. Woman don't just forget they got raped. AND YOU WANT TO PUNISH US IF WE GET RAPED & HAVE AN ABORTION? What about men, there just as guilty, you gonna punish them too?

First of all, I'm a female. My name is Joana. I'm pretty sure I have a few ideas about how women feel and think.

As I was telling the other anon, I find the entire idea of abortion very reasonable.  That is, if the thing being killed isn't a human being.  The problem is that they are.  Every human being should have the right over their own body except when exercising that right would mean directly killing another human being.

It would be nice to pretend that fetuses aren't human beings, but that simply isn't the case.

-Jo 

[standingfast-blog]

Okay. So can we reasonably say that pregnancy is work?

yes (:

-Jo

I'll be the dissent and argue that pregnancy is more so a function...the function of reproduction.

-Justin

[standingfast-blog]

Fine. Let me open with a simple question: What is your most basic, distilled down definition of work?

an activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something (that's Merriam-Webster).

-Jo

[standingfast-blog]

What if the woman is raped? She can't have an abortion then. It's hardly her child. She did not consent to it. She can go through 9 months of misery, while carrying a baby that she is forced to have. The stress will be very unhealthy for both her and the child. When she gives birth, it may be as mentally traumatizing as the rape itself. Then she can give the child up to a foster home and hope for the best or deal with seeing her rape daily. Don't say this is an unlikely scenario.

Let's say that she decided to keep her child.  A few months later, she was the proud mother of a healthy little girl.  She was so ready to make a new life and forget about the horrible things that had brought her to that point.  However, as soon as she saw her daughter for the first time, she was struck by the resemblance between her daughter and the man who had raped her.

She can go through 18 years of misery while caring for her child.  The stress will be very unhealthy both for her and her daughter.  Every time she sees her, it may be as mentally traumatizing as the rape itself.  She could give her daughter up to a foster home and hope for the best or deal with seeing her rapists face daily.  Don't say this is an unlikely scenario.

If she can kill her daughter while she's still in the womb, why can't she right when she's born?  Think of the trauma.  Think of the pain.  Somehow, trauma and pain aren't enough to justify killing another human being. 

Your argument makes a whole lot of sense if the unborn are nothing more than random cells or tissues.  This, however, simply isn't the case.  Before we answer the question, "can we kill it?" we should answer the question, "what is it?"  When the answer to this second question is a human being, then it's only obvious that we shouldn't be able to kill it.

Have a wonderful day, anon :)  Btw, keep the questions coming.  I love discussing these very important issues that our culture faces.  

-Jo