HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED

Posted: 13th July 2005

Phnom Penh (C.S.C) --- One of the greatest contributions of Christian philosophy to humanity is the confirmation that every human being has a sacred value from its beginning to its end; it is to say, from the moment of conception (in the mother’s womb) till the moment of death. Throughout the last two thousand years Christianity has struggled for the recognition of the high VALUE OF EACH HUMAN LIFE which has roots in God himself. (Cf. Book of Wisdom 2: 23-24).

I feel that in Cambodia, our country, there are still many violations against human rights and against human life. I invite you, the readers of C.S.C. news to take a stand in favor of human life. It doesn’t matter the religion you profess. All the major religions recognize the priceless of human dignity and the incalculable value of each human person whatever be his/her condition, sex, level of education. There are still so many threatens against life in our country that we cannot be passive anymore. The remembrance of the dark past of Cambodian’s recent history –especially during the Pol Pot’s regime- must be always in our minds and hearts so that we increase our commitment in the protection and respect for all forms of life. It is astonishing how easily people kill each other, as if killing animals! My heart is often broken when I read and listen to stories of the brutality of many people in our society acting against other fellow humans as if they were material things, very especially against those who are poor, weak and helpless. We can ask ourselves now: What are we doing to stop this? Whether you profess a religious belief or not, whether you are a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Christian or from any other religious belief, you should commit yourself in favor of life.

This was the urgent call of the late pope of the Catholic Church, His Holiness John Paul II. For this reason at the moment of his death millions of people all over the world paid respect to him in recognition for his hard work in favor of human life, defending the poor of all nations and speaking out in their favor everywhere during more than 26 years. He wrote a beautiful letter with the title: THE GOSPEL OF LIFE, which means the “Good News of life” that all of us should know and follow. In this letter the pope wrote about the urgent need in our modern society to respect human life and urges the governments of all nations to create laws and good judicial systems that help society to protect the human life, especially of those who are weak and helpless such as the poorest people of each nation, the unborn children, the old people and the sick.


In this letter John Paul II denounces the threatens against human life in our time that he calls ‘a culture of death’ that has its roots in an individualistic approach of the meaning of life and also in the belief that only those who can produce have dignity, it is to say, those who are weak and helpless do not have right to live.

Based in this practical way of thinking many people belief they can kill others such as robbers, unborn children, indigent, street children etc.

The ‘culture of death’ has its roots in a false conception of human liberty that praises egoism and the individual life, and rejects solidarity, love and caring for each other.

The pope says: “ Nobody –by his/her own will- can chose to live or to die. The only Lord of life is God our creator”, “in whom we live and move and have our being”

Therefore nobody has the right to take the life of another human being, even if that person is a robber or has committed a crime.

I invite you to reflect about this important subject in small groups and draw your conclusions and commitments.

Article Source: Catholic Social Communications, Fr. Omer Giraldo