Pro-Life or Not?

You do not need to be "Pro-Life" to be a completely faithful Catholic. I know I probably shocked the majority of my readers with that statement. Let me explain before you send me a pipe-bomb. What is the definition of "Pro-Life"? And, furthermore, who makes that definition? It is a helpful term, but not exactly Catholic in itself; and because of that, it is a dangerous term.

For example, what if the "Pro-Life" stance suddenly included protecting the lives of ants more than the lives of people? Would you still be "Pro-Life"? If the "Pro-Life" position was to shift and say that all life in the western hemisphere was sacred, but the rest of the world can be jettisoned, how would you respond? I doubt that either of these would ever occur, but the point is, what is more important, a title or a belief?

Take another hot-button issue. I would say, generally that I am "Pro-Life"; I would not, however, agree with some of the beliefs that others who call themselves "Pro-Life" would hold. Consider the modernist rejection of capital punishment. This is something which the Catholic Church, for her entire history before the modern era has said is a good and proper obedience--note that word, "obedience"!--to the fifth commandment (not the other way around as many today claim!). Yet, if someone claims that the "Pro-Life" position requires one to reject something that the Church has always said is good, then you must not be "Pro-Life".

Thus, as I said at the beginning, you do not need to be "Pro-Life" to be a good Catholic. You do need to obey all that the Church has always said, and proceed with extreme caution when someone (absolutely anyone) says something that is out of accord with the faith and tries to claim that it is the Catholic position. You do not need to be "Pro-Life" but you do need to be a faithful Catholic.