You shall not kill - You shall not kill anybody!

Fr. IRENEUSZ SKUBIƚ

We witness some outcry of the media against Fr Tadeusz Rydzyk who gave his opinion concerning the proposal for amendment of Article 38 of the Constitution by adding the words 'from the moment of conception until natural death' on the occasion of the women's meeting organised by Mrs Maria Kaczynska, the wife of the President of Poland. Fr Rydzyk was pinned down. The media demanded that he should apologise to her for his words although those words had not been directed to particular people. Fr Rydzyk was moved by the discussion about that topic, which was spoken about on the radio, and he reacted in his characteristic way. Since he expected that particular circles would fight for life, i.e. for what is defined in God's commandment 'You shall not kill!' This life is still endangered here. Although numerous MPs, including Mr Marek Jurek, the Speaker of the Parliament, do their best to ensure constitutionally the right to life from conception to natural death this is not the stand of the people in power, and this hurts us.
It will be possible to make such an amendment in the present line-up of parties in the Parliament. Although the constitution defends life to a considerable extent, thank God, the right-wing government in Poland could pass down into history as the body that defends every human being as God's highest gift like President Reagan did it, 'Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim and declare the inalienable personhood of every American, from the moment of conception until natural death, and I do proclaim, ordain, and declare that I will take care that the constitution and laws of the United States are faithfully executed for the protection of America's unborn children. Upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the constitution, I invoke the considerate judgement of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.'
Today, in the period of enormous progress in medicine, social possibilities and increase of social awareness such phenomena like abortion and euthanasia seem to be paradoxes and sometimes they can be rightly justified by ordinary comfort or the interest of insurance companies.
The Polish Bishops' Conference expressed its opinion on this heated subject and the bishops cut themselves off political speculations and attempts to appropriate the Church's stand by concrete parties. Their press release stresses that 'dignity and inviolability of human life from the moment of conception until natural death results from the natural law, which has always been the teaching of the Church and which the Servant of God John Paul II spoke about many times.' I want to quote the meaningful words, the wish of Archbishop Kazimierz Majdanski, bishop emeritus, and former prisoner of Dachau, 'May our constitution have a paragraph about protection of every human life from conception until natural death. Let it be a glorious chapter of the present government and parliament. The value of life has no alternative. This is the biggest treasure of our Homeland and it only guarantees her happy future.'
Fr Tadeusz Rydzyk cares for Poland's good and the good of Polish citizens. Our birth rate is the lowest in the European Union. What will our future look like?
Dr. Antoni Zieba, the indefatigable defender of life, has begun polemicizing about the new argument concerning the value of life with Elzbieta Jakubiak, Secretary of State, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland. In his long letter to Minister Jakubiak he presented the reasons for making article 38 more precise. I encourage you to get to know his letter and to understand that the constitution should ensure security for all Poles. Naturally, there remains the question about the concern of the state to provide basic care, help and understanding for those families that have disabled children and to provide care for the elderly.
Listen to those who fight for basic human rights since they have arguments that defend their cause. A child conceived in the mother's womb lives and therefore, an attempt on its life means an attempt on man's life. What could a child born of rape do about the circumstances of its conception? We all condemn rape as a criminal act. But can we add another crime? It will always be infanticide! And what about a sick child in the mother's womb? Does it not deserve medical treatment and protection? Does it deserve to be killed?...
A cry for protection of human life from the moment of conception until natural death is a cry for justice. We have the right to demand this from our MPs, and especially from those who refer to law and justice. And this is the message of the Church, which does not change, for the Feast of the Annunciation AD 2007.

"Niedziela" 12/2007

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl