In the the Jan. 26 WOMANEWS section, Catherine Whitney raises questions about the Catholic Church`s historical stand on abortion.
The tradition of the church has always held that human life must be protected and favored from the moment of conception through the various stages of development. Opposing the morals of the Greco-Roman world, the Catholic Church of the first centuries insisted on the difference that exists between this moral point and others.
In the Didache of the 2nd Century, it is stated ”You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder an infant already born.” And again in the 2nd Century the letters of Barnabas, ”Those women who use drugs to bring about an abortion commit murder and will have to give an account to God for their abortion.”
In fact, in the past 2,000 years no theological or scientific innovation has been presented that would compel the Catholic Church to alter its teaching on abortion.
Today`s Catholic community grieves over the children and their mothers who have become innocent victims of abortion, and works to eliminate abortion`s root causes through service and support.
