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About ten days ago, I opened up these scriptures and read over them in preparation for getting some thoughts for today’s homily. I said to myself, “Now, that will be a nice theme, ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation.’ That will make a nice homily.” Then I remembered that this week in the Church in the United States, the Church has asked us to reflect on the theme of “Respect for life.” .... I said to myself, “Oh, my! Why me?!” What ever I say will be misrepresented or misjudged or interpreted as a political statement of some kind.

Let me say, first of all, that I believe that every human endeavor, whether interpersonal or business or leisure, whether it involves family, community, country, or the world .... every human endeavor has a moral component. And, as Catholic Christians, we have a duty to reflect on that moral component in the light of the New Testament and the teachings and traditions of our Church.

“Right to life.” When people use that phrase, more often than not, they are understood to be talking about the issue of abortion. But this is not quite accurate as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Abortion is one of the many issues that are involved in the “right to life.” The Catholic Church teaches that every human being has a right to a full human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. And, under this broad umbrella, the Church reflects not only on the issue of abortion, but on issues such as quality of human life, the death penalty, war, assisted suicide for the terminally ill, and others.

Now, the Catholic Church teaches that abortion is sinful because it is the destruction of human life. The Catholic Church teaches, through the voices of our present Pope and our bishops, that the death penalty cannot be morally justified unless it is the only means to preserve the integrity of the state. The Catholic Church teaches that war can only be justified and morally acceptable under clear and very restrictive circumstances. The Catholic Church also teaches that the “right to life” embraces the right to decent shelter, food and a basic quality of human life.

You will recall, I am sure, that a few weeks ago the San Francisco Supervisors passed an ordinance decreeing that dogs must be provided with a certain level of warmth, comfortable shelter, and adequate food and drink. And there are legal penalties attached to failure to provide these things. Now, I commend those supervisors. I do believe that animals should be cared for and treated well. In fact, I think it is a certain measure of our humanity that we do so.

But is there an ordinance in any city that declares that human beings have a right to warm, comfortable shelter, and at least one nourishing meal a day? Are there legal penalties attached to failure to provide these things? “Right to life” does not end with the birth of a baby. The Church calls us to embrace ALL the issues that concern life and judge them on moral principles that are taught by our Church.

Now, Paul bemoaned the fact that there were divisions in the Church at Corinth. He’d probably bemoan the divisions in the Church today because there are divisions among us, among people of good will and good intentions, divisions on some or all of these great life issues. There are Catholics who would support abortion under the banner of “Right to choose.” There are Catholics who support the death penalty. There are Catholics who would vote for physician-assisted suicide. And they may be supported by the law in all of these cases. Let us remember, however, that just because the Supreme Court or the Congress or the President says that a thing is lawful does not make it moral. There is a clear distinction to be made there. As Catholics, we must make our considered moral judgments based on the New Testament and the teachings of our Church.

Now, if after mature deliberation and prayer, some decide to reject the teaching of the Church on any of these matters, they must live with their consciences. Do we call them sinners? Do we excommunicate all those who support abortion or the death penalty or the Iraq War or who fail to provide shelter for the homeless? I don’t think so. We cannot judge another person’s conscience. We may call them erroneous. We may judge them to be seriously mistaken. We may even judge their actions to be sinful, but we cannot judge their relationship to God. In all things, there must be charity. And we will never, never persuade by condemnation, but only by the example of our own consistent ethic of life that promotes the dignity and the sanctity of every human life in every circumstance of human existence. Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. That image must never be shattered. That likeness is sacred. Amen.