Speakers highlight Church teaching on Respect for Life
SANDY — Catholics can impact the world around them as they live and share the Church’s teachings, Father Sam Dinsdale told participants at the diocesan Respect for the Dignity of Life Day Jan. 29. The event was held at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Sandy, where Fr. Dinsdale, the spiritual advisor for the diocesan Respect for Life Commission, is pastor.
As he welcomed participants at a bilingual Mass that preceded the presentations, Fr. Dinsdale shared some words of St John Paul II: “The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world. …"
In his homily, Deacon Greg Werking urged Catholics to not just oppose abortion but also support and walk with women who are faced with crisis pregnancies. While he will be very grateful if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs Wade, the legal case that legalized abortion in the United States, “I worry we might fix a symptom and not the root cause,” Deacon Werking said.
If, in the fall, thousands of pregnant women are not allowed the choice to terminate their pregnancy, “will they feel loved by God?” he asked. “That’s where you and I come in. We need them to feel loved by God; we are God’s hands, God’s eyes. If they’re to feel God’s love, it starts with you and me.”
Catholics can help support women in crisis pregnancies in many ways, including through the Walking with Moms in Need program that is being implemented in parishes throughout the diocese.
In his presentation, titled “Catholic Teaching on the Dignity of Human Life,” Fr. Dinsdale said Catholics have at their disposal a “toolbox” to understand what Catholics believe. That toolbox contains several key principles: the life and dignity of the human person, being called to community, family and the common good, the preferential option for the poor, the dignity of work, the importance of solidarity and care for creation.
“Because we are made in the image and likeness of God, we should be treated with respect and love, regardless of who we are, regardless of whether we are the president of the United States or we are a homeless person who is found dead on State Street because he is frozen to death,” he said.
Using these principles Catholics can understand any Church document that is published, Fr. Dinsdale said. “We can bring forth who we are, what we’re about and greatly impact our world.”
Relating the parable of the Good Samaritan, Dr. Catherine Stokes, chairperson of the diocesan Respect for Life Commission, discussed many aspects of end-of-life care in her presentation. She spoke of the importance of accompanying the dying, including the elderly and the terminally ill, both young and old.
“We need to show care for all life and for the life of everyone, and so to review the unconditional love of God, the source of meaning of all life,” she said. “Death can become the occasion of a greater hope that makes us participants in the redeeming work of Christ.”
Cultural obstacles that hide the sacred value of every life include the fallacy that euthanasia is compassionate and can ensure a dignified death, she said.
“In the face of seemingly unbearable suffering the termination of a life is sometimes justified in the name of compassion,” she said. “In reality human compassion consists not in causing death but embracing the sick and supporting them in their difficulties, offering them affections and doing what we can to alleviate the suffering.”
“Every life has unique and unrepeatable value with the promise and openness to the transcendent,” Dr. Stokes said. “In this culture of waste and death, euthanasia and assisted suicide emerge as false solutions to the challenges of the care of terminal people.”
Stokes also provided information about Catholic teaching regarding aggressive medical treatment, hospice, prenatal care, pain therapy and other medical issues, including planning for the end of life.
Jean Hill, director of the diocesan Office of Life, Justice & Peace, gave an update on bills currently being considered by the Utah Legislature.
“One of the huge issues where the Catholic voice makes an incredible difference is the death penalty,” she said, explaining that one of the bills being considered this session is HB147, Death Penalty Modifications.
Advocates promote the death penalty as justice for families and as a prosecutorial tool, Hill said. Instead, “What it really is, is a hoax on families. This isn’t justice; the death penalty cases are a way for prosecutors to get reelected by saying they are tough on crime.”
Bills such as HB0074 End of Life Prescription Amendments (assisted suicide) are usually presented as a way to alleviate patient suffering, but “it’s about protecting doctors and allowing family members to receive insurance after their loved ones’ suicides,” she said.
Two other bills, HB220 and SB100, would expand Medicaid benefits to female recipients for at least a year after the birth of their child and provide new mothers who work for state agencies two weeks paid medical leave after their child is born.
A final issue of importance to Utah Catholics is a promise made by Gov. Spencer Cox that he would see to it that $228 million be budgeted toward deeply affordable and permanent supportive housing, Hill said.
“It means people who are making up to $11 an hour would actually be able to afford housing,” she said.
Hill urged all Utah Catholics to contact their legislators right away to express their support for this appropriation, HB 147, HB220 and SB100, and their opposition to HB74. Contact information for all legislators may be found at le.utah.gov.
On-site Spanish translation was provided. The event was also live streamed in English; it is available for viewing on the parish’s Facebook page.
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