Tuesday, November 27, 2012
From my Old Parish
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The Lord’s descent into the underworld
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3 comments:
Can I speculate a bit on abortion without for one second being seen to lessen in any way, that abortion is despicable in the extreme? In 1968, Joseph Ratzinger apparently wrote the following words in a book:
Regarding the future, it seems likely that, in global terms, the influence of the Church over the world will constantly diminish. The numeric triumph of Catholicism over other religions, which today can still be admitted, probably will not continue. ....
In this state of things, one should no longer be concerned with the salvation of 'the others,' who for some time now have become 'our brothers.' Above all, the central question is to have an intuition of the Church's position and mission in History under a positive new point-of-view. This new point-of-view should allow one to believe in the universal offer of the grace of salvation as well as the essential part that the Church plays in this. Therefore, in this sense the problem changed.
What concerns us is no longer how 'the others' will be saved. Certainly we know, by our faith in divine mercy, that they can be saved. How this happens, we leave to God. The point that does concern us is principally this: Why, despite the wider possibility of salvation, is the Church still necessary? Why should faith and life still continue to come through her? In other words, the present day Christians no longer question if their non-believer brothers can reach salvation. Overall, they desire to know what is the meaning of their union with the universal embrace of Christ and their union with the Church
(Joseph Ratzinger, "Necessita della missione della Chiesa nel mondo," in La Fine della Chiesa come Societa Perfetta, Verona: Mondatori, 1968, pp 69-70).
Now keep in mind these words from holy Scripture, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." St Matthew 10:28
Question One-
Does God permit abortion under the circumstances that exist since the 1960's, because at least the souls of aborted children spend an eternity of natural happiness in Limbo?
Question Two-
On Judgement Day, will there be fewer souls in Hell because of abortion?
We hope for those unborn whose bodies have been killed - one commentor reckoned that if satan doesn't get the souls of the unborn, he turns their mothers and fathers into murderers and so all these souls are living in mortal sin making the likely-hood that the place prepared for them in hell will be their final tenancy.
Given this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2238377/Teenager-SEVEN-heart-attacks-month-pill-Contraceptive-caused-hundreds-blood-clots.html
perhaps women who care about their own bodies may, by default end up caring about the unborn.
Does God permit abortion under the circumstances that exist since the 1960's, because at least the souls of aborted children spend an eternity of natural happiness in Limbo?
First, the Ratzinger quote given has a ellipses which always makes me suspicious, and moreover, the quote stops exactly where it needs to keep going (i.e. there is a major context issue). But anyway, in answer to the first question, no. Procured abortions are intrinsically immoral acts in and of themselves. Limbo is not and has never been a dogmatic article of the faith, but even if it were, it would still not make abortion morally acceptable.
Question 2 I don't know but again, even if it were the case that fewer souls were in Hell due to abortion, it would not make abortion acceptable. These are examples of consequentialism and as St. Paul tells us, we may not do evil that good may come of it.
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