Evangelium vitae

''Evangelium vitae'' () translated in English to "The Gospel of Life", is a papal encyclical promulgated on 25 March 1995 by Pope John Paul II. It deals with issues pertaining to the sanctity of human life, including murder, abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment, reaffirming the Church's stances on said issues in a way generally considered consistent with previous Church teachings.

Contents

Summary

Beginning with an overview of threats to human life both past and present, the encyclical gives a brief history of the many Biblical prohibitions against killing and how this relates to the concept of a culture of life. The encyclical then addresses specific actions in light of these passages, including abortion (quoting Tertullian, who called abortion "anticipated murder to prevent someone from being born"), euthanasia (which John Paul II calls "a disturbing perversion of mercy"), and the death penalty. According to John Paul II and the magisterium the only potentially acceptable use of the death penalty is when it would not otherwise be possible to defend society, a situation that is rare if not non-existent today (§ 56).

The encyclical then addresses social and ecological factors, stressing the importance of a society which is built around the family rather than a wish to improve efficiency, and emphasizing the duty to care for the poor and the sick.

The encyclical also deals with the proper uses of sex and the implementation of knowledge on adolescent teens of these behaviors.

Murder

Abortion

Contraception and sterilization

Contraception and sterilization are mentioned in multiple paragraphs.

The encyclical also says that contraception and abortion are "often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree".

Euthanasia

Capital punishment

Finally, ''Evangelium vitae'' states that "execution is only appropriate in cases of absolute necessity, in other words when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society". However, in today's society, with the improvement of the penal system these cases are very rare. The purpose of punishment is "to redress the disorder caused by the offense". The nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully examined and should not go to the extreme except in cases in which it is required. The Catechism states "If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority must limit itself to such means ... because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person."

Authority

The teachings of ''Evangelium vitae'' on the immorality of murder, directly willed abortion, and euthanasia are considered infallible by Catholic theologians including "liberals" (Richard Gaillardetz, Hermann Pottmeyer), "moderates" (Francis A. Sullivan), and "conservatives" (Mark Lowery, Lawrence J. Welch). According to these theologians, these three teachings are not examples of papal infallibility, but are examples of the infallibility of the ordinary and universal Magisterium. In other words, Pope John Paul II was not exercising papal infallibility in this encyclical, but he was stating that these doctrines have already been taught infallibly by the bishops of the Catholic Church throughout history.

To emphasize the infallibility of this teaching, the following steps were taken:

# Before writing ''Evangelium vitae'', Pope John Paul II surveyed every Catholic bishop in the world asking whether they agreed that murder, directly willed abortion, and euthanasia were immoral, and they all agreed that they were. To make this connection clear, the pope concluded each of these passages in ''Evangelium vitae'' with a reference to the "ordinary and universal magisterium" and a footnote that cited ''Lumen gentium'' § 25.
# William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from May 2005 until June 2012, wrote in 1995 that ''Evangelium vitae'' teaching regarding abortion was an infallible teaching of the ordinary magisterium.
# The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that these teachings in ''Evangelium vitae'' are infallible in its "Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ''Professio Fidei''", published on June 29, 1998, and signed by Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone.

Nonetheless, moral theologian James Bretzke, SJ, has stated that "it is unclear whether heformula sed in ''Evangelium vitae''meant to claim infallibility" and that "there is no clear consensus that any teaching in the ordinary magisterium claims infallibility." Even if not "infallible" under the teaching authority of the ordinary Magisterium, however, the teachings of ''Evangelium vitae'' are still entitled to being "received with the religious respect (''obsequium religiosum'') called for in 'Lumen Gentium'' § 25"

See also

*Culture of life
*''Humanae vitae''
*Catholicism and abortion
* Pro-life movements

References

External links

Complete text from the Vatican

Further reading

* http://cdn.theologicalstudies.net/56/56.3/56.3.9.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20220419132348/http://cdn.theologicalstudies.net/56/56.3/56.3.9.pdf A response to Germain Grisez

Evangelium Vitae on the Embryo Project

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Papal encyclicals
Documents of the Catholic Social Teaching tradition
1995 documents
Documents of Pope John Paul II
1995 in Christianity
Catholic Church and abortion
Christianity and capital punishment
March 1995 events