The following is a true story, and I am a witness to it. José is the nickname of the main character in this anecdote (the real name I am going to omit, since I have not been able to ask permission to reveal it) and also his real name begins with that same letter. José was one of the volunteers of the I Binational Profamily Prolife Congress. In addition, José was also a collaborator in a Christmas Youth Retreat and a Summer Camp for Children which we call Camping with the Blessed Sacrament. These last two were some of the activities that were the genesis of the Binational Pro-family Pro-life Congress and the Binational League.
One day, at a planning meeting for one of our activities, José arrived accompanied by an adult and a child. They looked humble, slim, and very serious. José introduced them to me, and they were joining us in a couple more meetings. José told me that he had found them on the street, and that they had just arrived from Central America (to be honest, I don’t remember if he told me Honduras or Nicaragua) and they had just crossed. Joseph, feeling sorry for them, lodged them in his own home. With a little help from our Pro-family Pro-life volunteers, a little more help was provided. José, helped to register the boy in school and helped the boy’s father to start looking for a way for living, while still giving them lodging, food and clothing, in his own home.
A few days later, I met José, asked him how the boy and his dad were doing, and he told me with some sadness and surprise that suddenly, dad took his son out of school and they just disappeared.
José was a good collaborator and friend who helped in the Pro-life and Pro-family cause. He understood perfectly that human dignity began from the moment of being a person and the very defense of the unborn had led him to be more human and more charitable. – End of story-
The following story is a fictional but full of truth. A very good doctor died. This doctor I’ll call him Dr. Hewlett. Dr. Hewlett was a good physician, Christian, and concerned for the unborn, the elderly, children, and the poor. The doctor, during the coronavirus pandemic affecting humanity, he dedicated himself with more fervor and determination to see patients of Covid-19. Unfortunately, the doctor caught the virus and due to other preexisting conditions and his chronic fatigue, he passed away.
Dr. Hewlett’s soul faced its final judgment. After having walked his life meticulously by the Divine Justice, Almighty God tells him, “come to me to enjoy my presence; but first, you have something to tell me?” Dr. Hewlett says, “My Lords, actually yes, I do have only one claim to make”. God told him, “tell me my son”. Dr. Hewlett replied, “Why didn’t you send a doctor or scientist to help us find a quick and effective cure for Coronavirus? This cost the lives of many good and innocent people. It would have helped us a lot”. – Almighty God responds with great love and firmness: “My son, Yes! I sent not just one, but millions of doctors and scientists. And they were going to kill not only that virus, but many others. Not only that, I also sent economists, engineers, architects and lawyers, masonry workers, builders, priests, etc. All of them had the task of helping the poor, creating a fairer economy, better laws, better infrastructure, for a more orderly, just and good society.” Dr. Hewlett, surprised, says to the Lord: “But where were these that you say, I never saw them, also, the world has not been very fair or good, especially for the poor and defenseless?” God replied, “Yes, I sent them and I continue to send them, but your colleagues have been aborting them. They have been deprived of the primary and essential opportunity to live.” -End of story-
I hope that these two stories illustrate the way of seeing the defense of life, especially in the unborn, as the first, essential and most important value.
I think, the order of things and the importance that they should have are:
The defense of life (abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy, contraception, etc.)
The defense of marriage and family (between a man and a woman and not the same sex unions, fight against gender ideology)
Religious liberty (that the Church can provide education, that we all have the right to express our opinion in school, work, society, without fear of retaliation or reprimands)
Educations and Culture Organization (parents have the primary right to educate their children, art and culture at the service of man and extol the soul)
The Social issues (Justice and security, economy, poverty, immigration, the safeguarding of the nation and its protection)
Technology and public works (infrastructure, etc.)
It is the order that I think should be taken into account. I believe that if the first three are guaranteed and promoted, the others will happen as consequence of the first ones.
“The mission of the Church is thus affected by an overly sentimental or anti-intellectual spirit, and, in an ’emotional’ age, the last thing we need is to get away from the clear teachings.” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Strangers in a Strange Land