Estranged from God, man turns against man, says Spanish bishop

Madrid, Spain, Apr 4, 2008 / 15:09 pm

In a statement to mark Pro-Life Day in Spain on March 31, Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Tarazona said when God is suppressed from human existence, “life becomes a struggle of egos in confrontation with each other, in which the strongest rules over the weakest until these are eliminated,” because “estranged from God, man turns against man.”

The bishop emphasized in his message that the struggle to defend life is the task of every person, “and just as endangered species are protected, today it is urgent that human life be protected from its beginnings until its natural end, because it is in danger.”

“There is an erroneous, widespread mentality today, even among believers, that abortion is a woman’s right,” Bishop Fernandez stated.  “This way of thinking has led to more than 100,000 legal abortions in Spain each year, and more than one million babies, since the law on abortion was passed, have not been born because they were killed in the wombs of their mothers. It’s hard to believe that we have grown accustomed to these numbers,” he said.

“This is a silent war,” he continued, “that violently takes more and more lives, while many couples who would like to adopt a child have to go to who knows where and spend huge amounts of money to do so. Last year, we heard the news of late-term abortions and even the idea of abortion on demand and that up to six months the fetus should be considered a simple piece of flesh that can be thrown in the trash.”

The bishop also addressed the issue of embryo research.

Every human being has the right to be born “from the loving embrace of his or her parents, and not from manipulation in science labs. The union of the sperm and the egg should take place in the womb and not in a petri dish.” At the very point of this fusion a new person comes into existence, he added.  “No matter how much science progresses, there are some things that are sacred.”

Bishop Demetrio also warned against euthanasia: “Nobody can suppress the life of another or help him to die or plan another’s death. The end of life is determined by God and Him alone,” he said.

“Medicine can help relieve the suffering of death with palliative care, but in no case can the death of somebody be planned.  In our Western society, we cannot tolerate death, and therefore we can’t tolerate life when it has become difficult,” Bishop Demetrio asserted.  “For the believer, death is the passing to a better life, to heaven. But that belongs to God alone,” he said.