CNA Staff, Aug 21, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).-
French Bishop Marc Aillet expressed his objections to a bioethics bill recently passed by the National Assembly, which expands the legally protected grounds for an abortion in France to include “psychosocial distress,” a move which bishops have said assures abortion nearly on demand.
Aillet, the Bishop of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron, criticized the bill in light of the teaching of the Church in an Aug. 15 statement. The bishop said the Church must fulfill its prophetic mission of proclaiming the truth about man and God’s design for his creation.
France’s National Assembly, the lower house of the country’s parliament, passed a bill Aug. 1 adding “psychosocial distress” as grounds for an abortion as part of the country’s Bioethics Law.
Abortion is permitted in France in the first trimester of pregnancy, and later in the pregnancy under certain medical circumstances.
The Assembly also approved state-funded medically assisted procreation for lesbian couples, as well as the genetic modification of embryos for research.
Aillet said the bill represents a “major anthropological rupture.”
“Some courageous opposition MPs defended with pertinent arguments the right of a child to have a father and a mother and the inviolable dignity of the human embryo, which would be unreasonable in the light of science to not recognize as a full human being. A few members of the majority, no less courageous, dared to vote against the bill,” the bishop noted.
“The government took advantage of summertime lethargy and the French taking time to relax, understandable after the constraints of the lockdown, to pass this bill during a time of general indifference. The mainstream media have mysteriously remained very quiet on the subject throughout these days,” Aillet lamented.
An ethical disaster
The bill will turn human embryos into “laboratory mice,” the bishop charged, opening the door to “making transgenic and even chimeric embryos, thus in a certain way abolishing the dividing line between man and animal.”
Aillet also said the subjective grounds of “psychosocial distress” for abortion are unverifiable.
Abortion is always “the murder of a child who has no voice,” the bishop said, what Saint John Paul II called “the deliberate suppression of an innocent human being” in his encyclical Evangelium vitae.
The prophetic mission of the Church
Aillet declared that “the prophetic mission of the Church is precisely to proclaim, in season and out of season, the Truth about man, of which the Church is the depositary by divine mandate.”
“The prophetic mission of the Church,” the bishop said, “is to alert humanity today and to warn it against the temptation of self-destruction.”
He noted the incongruence of “on one hand recognizing that by claiming to be master of the universe by the prowess of science, that we are leading the planet on the path of an ‘ecological catastrophe,’ and deciding, in the name of the same science, to take control of human life, from its conception to its natural death, without leading humanity towards an even more damaging catastrophe!”
“One cannot, without serious prejudice to the future of mankind, oppose with impunity the Design of the Creator,” he added.
“This is the fundamental reason for our defense of the dignity of the human person, beginning with the smallest and most vulnerable,” Aillet explained.
For the French bishop “the prophetic mission of the Church therefore consists, not first of all in trying to be heard according to the criteria of the world, but in speaking to people’s consciences, that intimate sanctuary where the voice of God resounds, who commands every man to do good and avoid evil.”
“The prophetic mission of the Church still consists in pointing to the moral gravity of this bioethical bill in deciding to deprive children of the right to have a father and a mother.”
“It is not, however, a question of judging or condemning the people who, often in spite of themselves and under pressure from the surrounding environment or abused by flattering and lying propaganda, come to use these means in order to satisfy a legitimate desire to have a child or to avoid other ailments. The Lord knows their hearts and is always quick to show Mercy. All the more reason to warn them and accompany them with charity, but in the Truth.”
However, the prelate warned that “those who, knowing the moral gravity of these practices, through electioneering demagogy or ideology, enact unjust laws that are binding on all, are more guilty and reprehensible. Saint Thomas Aquinas asserted that a civil law inconsistent with natural law and divine law “is more violence than law.”
The bioethics bill goes back to the French Senate for a second reading, where it can be amended again, before being put to a vote by a joint committee of the two houses at the end of 2020. However, the decision of the National Assembly is final when a consensus cannot be reached.
“It is therefore necessary to continue to alert consciences, in particular of the senators who will have study the bill,” Aillet urged.
Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is also part of the prophetic mission of the Church, the bishop said. “What is at stake is the creative and redemptive Design of God, which it is clear “the one we call the Devil or Satan opposes from the beginning and until the end of time.”
“It is no doubt a matter of battling with all the human means at our disposal as responsible citizens,” he continued.
“For us faithful of the Catholic Church, it will also be a matter of fighting with the traditional spiritual weapons: the prophetic Word – which like that of Jesus can push back darkness and cast out demons – prayer, in particular the Rosary, and fasting.”
Therefore “the Lord is looking for souls of prayer and sacrifice to courageously engage in this combat,” the prelate encouraged.
“On the solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, principal patroness of France, we will entrust this fight to the Virgin Mary, renewing the vow of Louis XIII,” Aillet concluded.
A version of this report was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
[…]
Be with us O Mary along the way – Guide every step we take.
Pray to God Almighty, in the name of Jesus Christ! Not Mary, that is an abomination to God. Folks, do what’s written in the Bible, not what the leader of a corrupted religion says.
God came to us through Mary, do you not think he would listen to those who come to HIM through her also? She only leads to Jesus.
May I suggest that you read Brent Pitre’s book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary? Then when you understand the role of the Queen Mother in the Old Testament you will understand why we ask Our Lady to intercede for us.
Eve,
We believe in the Communion of Saints. Perhaps you do too?
If I ask you to pray for our protection against this virus it’s not an abomination. Nor if you ask me or if we ask that of Our Lord’s Mother.
I understand how it might seem confusing if you’re not Catholic but maybe this helps explain a little bit.
Can doctrine be an acceptable alternative to scriptural guidance? People can find comfort in tradition, yet is the apostolic tradition not the best for our eternal souls?
This has been a debate over the generations and if we depart from scripture, what will validate an alternative view? To endorse the perspective that (Mary may her name be blessed) is given a capacity that falls outside of the limits of the Bible, may not be paying proper obeisance to our Lord and saviour!?
The purpose is not to destroy another’s faith, rather, to put matters into the context of Holy Writ. Where do we find the Church doctrinal position confirmed in the Bible?
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
1 Corinthians 2:5 That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
With respect and appreciation.
I (and others) have addressed this several times already, Brian. You write: “and if we depart from scripture, what will validate an alternative view?” But when you accept the NT canon, you “depart” from Scripture, as Scripture does not tell us which books belong in, well, Scripture! But, Scripture does point us to “the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). Now, we know that this household of God, the Church, is not Protestant, as the Protestant Revolution took place in the 1500s. It’s not complicated. But it is life-changing, so I understand why you keep avoiding it.
Dear Carl:
After a fulsome day of celebrating the Lord, who turns up but your problem child? As we dialogue, our focus is to honour the Lord and clear up misunderstandings which are part and parcel of life.
“But when you accept the NT canon, you “depart” from Scripture, as Scripture does not tell us which books belong in, well, Scripture!”
Is the NT not the fulfillment of the OT? It is a well settled fact through the various councils, the NT is divinely inspired!
We will not look at the Apocrypha as Jerome didn’t consider it part of the canon, however others differed and it found its way in. Yet, did I read somewhere that it is not included in the updated Vulgate?
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
In any event, what is the scriptural basis on which the churches position is envisioned and extrapolated?
Once again thank you for taking the time, you bring out the best in yours truly (as meagre as it may be)!
Continued blessings,
Brian
1 Corinthians 2:10-13 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
“After a fulsome day of celebrating the Lord, who turns up but your problem child?”
Ha! I appreciate your sense of humor, Brian.
“Is the NT not the fulfillment of the OT?”
Yes, absolutely! We agree on this. But–on what basis do you accept the 27 books in the NT as inspired by Holy Spirit, etc.?
“It is a well settled fact through the various councils, the NT is divinely inspired!”
Ah, there you go. And were those councils Protestant?
Hello Carl:
God has given you energy in abundance. In reading your articles, He has also given you a quest for truth and the desire to educate.
Never the less, your alter ego presents itself as you deliver zingers to recalcitrant commenters on various topics. Yes indeed, it’s the “Papal Bull” in this corner, ladies and gentleman.
As you don your cape and step into the ring to address your challenging characters, a win for the Lord is the goal.
We can agree on a great deal as God leads us. The wonder of His love for us!
We know that Luther and Calvin didn’t show up at the councils, however we can postulate that some of their views may have been discussed long before they were born!
The New Vulgate and the versions used amongst protestant believers are much the same. Koine Greek is used to render the most accurate translation in both cases (NIV, Vulgate, etc)!
God bless you,
Brian
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
2 Peter 1:19-21 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Mark 12:24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.