Archbishop Alfred Hughes on Defending Life

The New Orleans Archbishop says not all areas where Catholics are called to defend the dignity of human life are morally equivalent.

The Gospel of Life revisited

"Whether we address abortion or stem-cell research or human cloning or euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide or violence or racial injustice or war or capital punishment or poverty, the underlying issue is respect for human life. We cannot treat all of these issues as morally equivalent. Each is subject to a different moral analysis. Yet they all impact the sacredness of human life.

For instance, we cannot tolerate the impoverishment of people or the denial of basic health care for them. But there is no one policy or plan that is the only legitimate moral response. Discrimination based on race is intrinsically wrong, but we can legitimately differ on the most effective moral plan to address it. It is wrong to take the life of a criminal for motives of vengeance or in circumstances where the state has other viable alternatives to protect its citizens, but the Church teaches that state-sanctioned executions may, in rare circumstances, still be justified. However, abortion, euthanasia, genocide and pre-meditated murder are always gravely wrong."