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MARIAE CALX

Rebuilding our Christian civilisation

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FOCUS:

THE CHURCH and MEDICINE INCLUDING:

JÉRÔME LEJEUNE a giant amongst scientists

SPECIAL GIFTS OF life an interview with Dame Colleen Bayer

THE LEGACY OF EUGENICS from evolution to genocide and its rebirth in the population control movement

A V O I C E O F T H E FA M I LY P U B L I C AT I O N

ISSUE 16

SPRING 2022

! Y A D O T P U N G SI

JOIN OUR ONLINE VIDEO CATECHISM COURSE A unique opportunity for children and their families to learn the timeless truths of the Catholic Faith according to the classic

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MARIAE CALX

ISSUE 16

SPRING 2022

CONTENTS 2

r o m F th e d i r

3 ewayfor dastheCovid-19panemicp arstobendig byo J hn Smeaton 7

2 1 FO C U S

C iv l s a t o n , c i e a n d s o c i a l e n g r i n g e l g a c y f o e u g n i c s : f r o m e v l u ti o n ge c i d a n t s e r bi h i n th e p o u l a ti n c o r l m v e n t byLiam Gibson e C hu rc a n d m e i c

2 Medicnalro tsfher olif by Peter Newman 27 e s v n h o p e s f li by Prof é J rôme Lejeune 22

é rJ ô m e L j u n – a g i n t m o g s c i e n t s

37 r Fu i t f l e s a r c h w i t o u h m a n e b r y o e x p l i t a o n by Prof é J rôme Lejeune 43 Sp e c i a l g f t s o l i e Interview with Dame Colleen Bayer 33

51 Gian Betr Mol a : hymntoG d,tolife th amily byVirginia Coda Nunziante 5 O u r s L m i no d ’ t y f h e a l i n g byDr o J seph Shaw 59

A l te r f o m a B e n d i c t m o n k

67 e A n u c i a t o n d h e s B l c o n ’ d i t g rV by St Bernard of Clairvaux 51

I S S N: 2 5 1 7 - 6 4 5 5

he events of recent years have highlighted two major EDITORIAL BOARD misconceptionsaboutmodernmedicine: - firstly,Liam inGibson over John Smeaton estimating the e{cacy of human solutions, and secondly, in underestimatingitsroleinthesalvificmissionof the Church. DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR Selina Fang History shows that abandoning the Creator leads to a loss of respect for His creatures (see p. 7). The late Prof JérôVOICE me OF THE FAMILY Lejeune,whofeaturesprominentlyinthis Calx issue Mariae,of knewthis.Med7 Bell Yard icine, he believed, could be summed up as “hatred of the disease andLondon love of WC2A 2JR thedisabled”.“If wechangethosetermsof reference,”heargued,“if weKingdom begin United tofightonthesamesideasthedisease,theneliminatingthepatientinorderto Email: editor@voiceofthefamily.com eradicatethediseaseisexactlytheabortionof medicine”(seep.28). www.voiceofthefamily.com/calxmariae The enemy of the human race profits greatly from sickness and death to DISCLAIMER: Great care is taken to credit photos sowhopelessnessand,wherehecan,despair.Exploitingournaturalaversion toand seek permission before publishing. If you have a query regarding physical suzering, he argues that it is better to kill or be killed than to suzerplease – copyright, contact the Editor. No part of this magazine may be reproduced perverting charity, compassion and mercy with a growing catalogue of crimes without written permission. againsthumanlife,intendedtospreadcontemptforitsAuthor.Hewouldhave Donations for the continuation of this us believe that the Passion and death of Our Lord, which reopened the gates in print will be gratefully magazine received of heaven,iswithoutvalueandirrelevanttoourownsuzering,whichwemust by Voice of the Family at the address above or online via: fightanderadicate. www.voiceofthefamily.com/donate Theearliestknowncatechism, Didache thesays:“Therearetwoways,oneof Calx Mariae seeks to contribute to the lifeandoneof death;butagreatdizerencebetweenthetwoways.”Therebuilding choice of Christian civilisation by providing features and analysis in the of which way to follow is placed before everyone – and, in particular, before areas of life, family and culture. Our aim in everyChristian.Thedemons,however,wouldconvinceusthatthewayof life producing this magazine is to strengthen our readers in the faith and in their witness is impossible, while the way of death is merciful; without further dizerence to the truth about human life and the between the two. Nowhere is this demonic deception more destructive today family. thaninthefieldof medicine. Calx Mariae is published by Voice of the JustasOurLordwasbetrayedbyoneof thoseclosesttohim,sohumanvictimsFamily, formed in support of Catholic teaching on the family. The following todayarebetrayedbytheirown:thegenerationwhichpermitteditself its at the heart of Voice truths to are kill particularly of the Family’ s work: children, sees its children’s generation take the same license in regard to their parents; thus the bonds of love are broken in the family and the sanctuary of the exclusive, life-long union 9 Marriage, of one man and one woman, is the lifeisthreatenedfromwithin. foundation of a stable and flourishing Despite this, the strongest bond of natural love remains between a mother society and is the greatest protector of and her child. In this issue, we hear about two mothers who bear witness tochildren, born and unborn. 9 story The procreative and unitive ends of thislovethroughtheirself-sacrificebutinverydizerentways.Seethe of marriage cannot licitly be separated; GiannaBerettaMollap ( and )15 ourinterviewwithDameColleenBayerp. ( . )34 the rejection of this truth lies at the root of modern attacks on life and the The great season of Lent reminds us of the total and eternal defeat of the family. devil,bymeansof hismostprizedassets:suzeringanddeath.Thereisnothingwe 9 Parents are the primary educators of shouldcherishmorethantheCross–inourownlivesjustasinthecommunion their children and the protection of of faith–becauseitisthewayof everlastinglife,showntousbyJesusandMary.this right is essential for building a new “culture of life”. Today,ourHolyMotherChurchalsoseemstocarrythecrossandhumiliations of OurLordtowardsherownCalvary.Wemustneverforget,however,thatthe trueheadof theChurchisinfinitelybeyondthereachof menwhoattemptto disfigureherbeautifulface.JustasOurLadycarriedtheCatholicfaithtoCalvary, whenallhumanfaithwasconfoundedbythesuzeringanddeathof herSon,so arewecalledtofollowtheChurchatthehourof herpainfulimitationof Our Lord's Passion. But how can we bear to follow unless, like St John, we run to Mary,Motherof Godandof theChurch?Byherside,atthefootof theCross, we will be assured of choosing the way of life, to which we renew our resolve everyyearasweprepareforEasterandthetriumphof theResurrection.

OF T HE FA M I LY 2 022

EDITOR Maria Madise

FROM THE EDITOR

as the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be ending

pro-life action

THE WAY FORWARD b y J O H N S M E AT O N

generations to come: unscrupulous politicians in many parts of the world have exploited the fear and confusion created by the pandemic to introduce sweeping changesandfacilitateanincreaseinhomeabortions. IntheUSA,forexample,inDecemberthe 201, federal government approved access to abortion pills bymail,onapermanentbasis,followingtemporary approvalinApril201. TheNewYorkTimesreports:

“The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) actionmeansthatmedicalabortion,anincreas inglycommonmethodauthorisedintheUnited Statesforpregnanciesuptoweeks’ 01 gestation, willbecomemoreavailabletowomenwhofind it di{cult to travel to an abortion provider or prefertoterminateapregnancyintheirhomes.”

he political and health establishment is beginning toheraldtheendof theworstof theCoronavi IntheUK,thegovernmentstatesthat,fromApril rus:theworst,thatis,if youhappentohavehadthe 20,itintroduced“atemporaryapproval…en privilegeof beingbornalready. ablingwomenandgirlstotakebothpillsforearly AnarticleinamajorUKnationalnewspaper The medical abortion (EMA) up to 10 weeks (9 weeks Daily TelegraphFebruary 2( concluded )2 0 that“Brit and 6 days) gestation in their own homes, follow ain is largely out of the coronavirus woods”, whilst ingatelephoneore-consultationwithaclinician theWorldHealthOrganizationwasurgingcountries 1 withouttheneedtofirstattendahospitalorclinic”. to“liftoreaseinternationaltra{cbans”. They did this, the Government says, “in order to The suzering caused by Covid-19 will never be reduce the transmission of Covid-19” for - the du fullyquantifiedandcannotbemeasuredonlybythe rationof thepandemic. numberof Covidcasesanddeaths;forexample,the TheUK’sgovernmentpolicyhasresultedina pressure which has been brought to bear on the health major increase in the killing of unborn childr services,combinedwiththepublic’shesitation inseek AccordingtotheDepartmentof HealthandSocial inghealthcarewhich,initsturn,hasledtoanincrease Care: inseriousphysicalandpsychologicalillness,aswellas deaths, including suicides. The economic impact of “Between January and June 20, there were Covidonindividualsandbusinesseshashadasimilar 109,836 abortions performed on residents of impact on the health and welfare of countless people EnglandandWales.Thiscompareswith045,1 worldwide. overthesameperiodin2 2019.” However, there is another evil of the pandemic whichthreatenstoprolongthedeathandsuzeringfor S PR I NG 2 0 22

pro-life action

“There is another evil of the pandemic which threatens to prolong the death and suffering for generations to come: unscrupulous politicians in many parts of the world have exploited the fear and confusion created by the pandemic to facilitate an increase in home abortions.”

Meanwhile, in Europe, according to the British GiventhatintheUKalonetherewasanincreaseof MedicalJournal: morethanfourthousandunbornchildrenkilledin thefirstsixmonthsof as 20 aresultof theGov “Expansions to medical abortion care during ernment’s pandemic abortion policy - (with the in COVID-91 werenotedincountries/ 31 regionscreasealreadymakingitself feltinthefirstmonthof surveyed;namelyBelgium,Estonia,Ireland, - Fin thepolicy’sintroduction)it , isnotunreasonableto land,France,Germany,Norway,Portugal,Swit estimate a total overall increase of tens of thousands zerland,England,Wales,ScotlandandNorth of abortionsinthecountriesmentionedabove.If ernIreland,sixof whichinvolvedo{cial inpolicy particular countries, like in the US, these tem amendments. These changes … were largely porary policies become permanent then the home consideredtemporary,andpertainedmostly abortiontodeath-toll of governments' reactions to the expansion of home-based medical abortion Covid-91 mayeventuallybeexpectedtosurpassthe andmodesof dispensingmifepristone (thefirst nearlysix-million“natural”deathsfromCovid-19 medicationdispensedformedicalabortion) .” reportedworldwide. o{cially

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t he way f or wa r d

Tragically,Calx as Mariaegoestopress,theWelshnal welfare of every human being alive as well as government has announced that temporary arof allthoseyettoexist. rangements allowing early abortions to be carried Thereality,however,isthat,whilesecular - gov out at home during the pandemic are being made ernments cave in to the pro-abortion lobby, bish permanent. ops throughout the world, and the Pope himself, Mercifully, in England, following a powerful arecavingintopoliticianswhoflagrantlyinsiston grassrootscampaignledbytheSocietyfor - the voting Pro for abortion laws and other evils such as tectionof UnbornChildren(SPUC)the , Govern same-sex“marriage”. ment has announced that the temporary measure IntheUS,thebishopsoverwhelminglypersevere allowingwomentotakebothabortionpillsin athome failing to condemn the widespread reception willendatmidnighton29AugustHowever, 20. of Holy Communion by pro-abortion politicians, the Department of Health and Social Care has includingPresidentBiden,whoseclaimthatPope said that it will keep the situation “under review” Francistoldhimthathewas“agoodCatholic”and and British pro-life campaigners, led bythat SPUC, he“shouldkeepreceivingCommunion”was will be deploying all their resources to persuade met only with the Vatican response that it was “a parliamentarians and the UK government not private to conversation”. succumb to the pro-abortion lobby's pressure to IntheUK,anemailsentfromtheCatholic - Bish performaU-turnandtore-introducethemeasure ops’Conferenceof EnglandandWales(CBCEW) onapermanentbasisaftersixmonths. inMarchto 4102 Catholicparliamentarians,stated: As people in various parts of the world “There lookare no plans by any bishops in England forward once again to enjoying the freedom to travand Wales to deny Communion to Catholic MPs el and other freedoms, Catholics and the proor peers life who voted in favour of same-sex marriage movement must remain firmly focused on what legislationlastyear.”Thismessagewent-outinde may yet prove to be Covid-19’s worst legacy: - un fianceof Catholicdoctrinethat:“Tovoteinfavour born children being murdered in ever-increasing of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely 3 numbersinreactiontothepandemic. immoral. ” Whatcanwedo? Evenwhilewarisbeingwagedagainsthumanity First, UK citizens who wish to assist the cam atitscore,wewitnessendlessskirmishesinourown paign to stop home abortions in England should camp;notonlythesilenceandsubmission,butthe visit spuc.org.ukandcitizensof othercountriesvery should statements,of ourspiritualleaderscontradict support the activities of good pro-life organisations theunchanging truthentrusted through them,by intheirownpartof theworld. divine authority, to the Church which they serve. Secondly, Catholics must have recourse Under to these circumstances, in addition to taking prayer,penanceandperseverance. prudent pro-life action, ordinary Catholics must Legislationintroducedbypowerfulgovernments, resort to prayer and penance: the infallible means of givingwideraccesstoabortionaroundthe making world, reparationforsin.Inotherwords,Catholics provides another illustration that we are living musthaverecoursetoMary. through a war of apocalyptic proportions, waged Earlyintheth 02 century,OurLadyappearedto againsthumanityatitsverycore.Thiswarcannot threeshepherdchildreninFatima,Portugal, warn be won without the Church, and, in particular,ingthemof agreatchastisementif “peopledonot withoutCatholicbishopswieldingtheirGodcease given ozendingGod”. authoritytoteachandleadsoulstohonourGod’s OurLadyof Fatima’sapocalypticwarningsare commandments concerning the bioethical issues transfusedbyamessageof hopeforhumanity,but whichthreaten,notjustthetemporal,butthe - eter onlyonconditionthatwe“ceaseozendingGod”.

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It is evident that “people”, not least Church her Divine Maternity and refusal to recognise leaders, have not ceased ozending. What is the herastheMotherof allmankind,(4)blasphe wayforward? mies of those who seek openly to foster in the OurLadyof Fatimahasshownustheway. heartsof childrenindizerenceorcontemptan We must play our part in bringing about the evenhatredforthisImmaculateMother,the )5 ( triumphof herImmaculateHeartbymakingacts ozences of those who directly outrage her in of reparationand,onfiveconsecutive- FirstSatur herholyimages. days of the month: “Intheend,myImmaculateHeartwilltriumph,” • GoingtoConfession OurBlessedMotherassuresus.Thesituationcould • ReceivingHolyCommunion notbemoreseriousbut,withherhelp,itisfarfrom • PrayingtheRosary desperate. • Meditating for fifteenminutes on one or“And more where sin abounded, grace did more of themysteriesof theRosary abound”(Romans5:20) • Alldonewiththeintentionof makingreparation ENDNOTES: for ozences against the Immaculate Heart Department of of Health and Social Care, “Temporary approval of home use for both stages of early medical abortion”, 30 March 2020. Mary. These are: (1) blasphemies against the Department of Health and Social Care, “Abortion statistics for England and Wales ImmaculateConception,blasphemies )2( againstduring the COVID-19 pandemic”, updated 17 March 2021. Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between hoherPerpetualVirginity,blasphemies (3) against mosexual persons, Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 3 June 2003. 1.

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analysis

CIVILISATION, SCIENCE AND SOCIAL ENGINEERING

The legacy of eugenics: from evolution to genocide and its rebirth in the population control movement by LIAM GIBSON

idespread concerns regarding the managementof publicschoolsintheUnitedStates have been mounting for years. But when school authorities dealt dismissively with questions over theirCovidrestrictions,theangerof American par ents boiled over and helped turn education into themajorelectoralissue1 of Throughout .120 the year,parentscomplainedabouttheirchildrenbeing exposed to explicit material, transgender ideolo gy, school closures and mask mandates. But most serious of all were the objections to the influence of criticalracetheory(CRT)andthedepictionof Americaasirredeemably2 racist. CRT’sportrayalof Americansof European de scent as the class enemies of ethnic minorities has made this one of the most explosive issues in contemporaryUSpoliticsandhasborneoutThomas Sowell'sobservationthat: “Fewmixturesaremorevolatilethanraceand politics. The normal frictions and resentments among individuals and groups seldom approach themagnitudeof frenzyandviolenceproduced "The eugenists wanted to shift the birth control emphasis from 3 bythepoliticisationof race.” fewer children for the poor to more children for the rich. We went

back on that and sought first to stop the multiplication of the unfit.

appeared the most important and greatest step towards race Resistance to the introduction of CRT- inThis Dem betterment.” ocrat-dominated districts has led some left-wing — Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography (Pergamon, 1938) pp 374-5. commentators to warn that Republicans are - be 4 InNovember,the coming“thepartyof parents”. Currently,acrosstheUS,aroundBills 137 have RepublicansgainedahistoricvictorywhenGlenn beenHis introduced to curtail the teaching of contenYoungkinwaselectedgovernorof Virginia. first tioussubjectssuchasCRT. 5 AccordingtoThe-Phil o{cialaction,afterbeingsworninon16January was ,20 tosignanexecutiveorderbanningCRT adelphiaInquirer:“Educationexpertssayaflood new laws and proposals to curb discussions of andsimilar“divisiveconcepts”fromtheof schools. S PR I NG 2 0 22

analysis

“In the popular understanding of the 'Scopes Monkey Trial', ill-educated Christian zealots unjustly sought to persecute men of science for daring to teach the discoveries of Charles Darwin. However, this version of events masks some of the darkest aspects of the 20th century.”

racial and LGBTQ issues is the worst classroom scaresinceScopesMonkey6However, Trial.” leg islationmaynotbeenoughtoendCRTinschools. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has made clear its intention to challenge such laws as itdidalmostyears 10 agowhenitsoughttoover turnTennessee’sbanonteachingevolutioninwhat 7 cametobeknownasthe“ScopesMonkeyTrial”. AlthoughtheACLUlostitscase,themediaensured itssuccessinthecourtof publicopinion. Afiction al version of this story was presented in the stage play Inherit the Wind,latermadeintoafilmstarring 8 In the popular Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly. understanding of the trial, ill-educated Christian zealotsunjustlysoughttopersecutemenof science fordaringtoteachthediscoveriesof - Charles DarScopes, on the right, is pictured with George John Thomas Washington win.However,thisversionof eventsmaskssomeof Rappleyea in photograph taken a month before the trial in June 1925. thedarkestaspectsof theth 02 century,theezectsof whicharestillfelttodayintheareasof law,science during its passage the legislation highlighted the andhumandignity. divisions within Protestant denominations. While Baptists and Presbyterians opposed the teaching EVOLUTIONANDSOCIALENGINEERING In1925,TennesseepassedtheButlerAct,named of evolution,MethodistsandEpiscopaliansspoke 9 ThiswasreflectedinButler’s outagainsttheBill. after its author John Washington Butler, a farmer later bytradeanda“Primitive”Baptistbyreligious af remarks: filiation. It made it a misdemeanour for schools, “…theBibleisthefoundationuponwhichour colleges and universities funded by tax-payers to AmericanGovernmentisbuilt…Theevolution teach:“anytheorythatdeniesthestoryof Divine istwhodeniestheBiblestoryof creation,aswell creation of man as taught in the Bible and to teach asotherBibleaccounts,cannotbeaChristian… instead that man descended from a lower order of It goes hand in hand with Modernism, makes animals”.Itreceivedsubstantialpoliticalsupport, Jesus Christ a fakir, robs the Christian of his beingpassedinthelowerchamberby71votesto hope and undermines the foundation of our 5andby24to6inthestatesenate.Althoughthe Government…”10 controversyaroundtheActwouldlaterbeviewed in terms of a conflict between faith and science, 8

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The speed with which the Butler Act was adopt Aftereightdaysof debate,thejuryreturneda ed may explain why it failed to take into account guilty verdict in just nine minutes and the judge the fact that Tennessee mandated the use in state finedScopesAn .01$ appealtotheTennessee-Su schoolsof atextbookwhichcontainedasection preme on Courtupheldtheconvictionbutstruckout 1 evolution,GWHunter’s Civic Biology. thefinesincefinesover$50hadtobedecidedby AlmostimmediatelytheACLUsetouttochal thejuryratherthanthejudge. lenge the law by advertising in Tennessee newspaIronically, the textbook that Scopes- was sup pers for a teacher willing to help them test the Butler posedtohaveused,andwhichhadprovokedsuch Actincourt.Assumingthatahighprofiletrialon a heated a discussion, said surprisingly little on the controversial issue would attract nationwide attensubjectof evolution.Infact,Darwin’stheoryisused tion for their town, a group of businessmen merely fromasthepretextfortheauthor’spromotionof Dayton persuaded a local teacher, John Thomas socialDarwinism.InapassageheadedEugenics,it Scopes,toclaimhehadbrokenthelawandinvite explainsthelegacyof immoralityand“feeblemind prosecution.Inreality,Scopestaughtphysics, - math edness”thatresultswhen“mentaldefectives”have ematics and sports. He had taught a few biology children.Itillustratesthisbyrelatingthespurious 51 asoldierintheAmer lessonsasasubstituteteacherbutdidn’tbelieve story he of theKallikakfamily: had referred to the section in Hunter’sican bookRevolutionary that War,MartinKallikak,wassaid dealtwithevolution.Nevertheless,hedisapproved to have seduced a “feebleminded girl” who bore of thelawandtheACLUhadpromisedtopaythe him a“feebleminded” son. A study of this child’s fineif hewasconvicted. descendantsseemstohaveremarkablydetailed in Both the prosecution and the defence brought formation on all 480 of them – 3 were sexually innationallyrenownedfiguresforthe - case immoral, –Wil confirmed 42 drunkards,epileptics, 3 and liamJenningsBryanfortheprosecution - feebleminded. and 341 Clar Kallikaklatermarrieda“normal 12 ence Darrow for the defence. Both sides sought Quakergirl”fromwhomhehad496descendants tomaketheveracityof Darwin’stheorythewith focus no cases of “feeblemindedness” - – a favour of thetrial.Butthejudgewasequallydetermined ite catchall term that could be applied to anyone that it would only deal with the alleged violation withsociallyundesirabletraits.“Theevidenceand of theButlerAct.TheAmericanpressdescended themoral,”theauthordeclares,“speakfor - them on Dayton and a carnival atmosphere surroundselves!” But the following paragraphs would leave ed the opening of the trial with trained chimps the children in no doubt as to the lesson they were performing for the spectators on the steps of the supposed to learn: packedcourthouse. “ParasitismanditsCosttoSociety.–Hundreds H L Mencken, the syndicated and incendiary of families such as those described above exist columnist for the Baltimore Evening Sun,whodubbed 31 contheproceedingsthe“ScopesMonkey Trial”, today,spreadingdisease,immorality,andcrime toallpartsof thiscountry.Thecosttosocietyof vinced the defence team that it was less important to such families is very severe. Just as certain ani winthecasethantomaketheiropponentslook like mals or plants become parasitic on other plants fools.Menckenledtheezortsof Northernpapersto oranimals,thesefamilieshavebecomeparasitic “portraytheSouthasabackward-lookingrelicof on society.Theynotonlydoharmtoothersby pre-modernsociety”.Inaseriesof vitriolic reports, corrupting, stealing, or spreading disease but Menckendidmorethananyoneelsetoensure that they are actually protected and cared for by the the Christian fundamentalists he despised, would stateoutof publicmoney.Largelyforthemthe not only be mocked but regarded as a threat to poorhouseandtheasylumexist.Theytakefrom democracy,brandingthem“morons”,“hillbillies” society, but they give nothing in return. They andthe“KuKluxKlergy”. 14 aretrueparasites. S PR I NG 2 0 22

analysis

“The cost to the state of caring for ‘degenerate persons’ in institutions was a consistent theme and sterilisation was held out as the possibility of inmates being released into society without the risk of them bearing children who would inevitably become a drain on the state.”

“TheRemedy.–If suchpeoplewerelower ani “An Act to prevent the procreation-of feeble mals,wewouldprobablykillthemoztoprevent minded,insane,epileptic,inebriate,criminalist themfromspreading.Humanitywillnotallow and other degenerate persons by authorising this,butwedohavetheremedyof separatingtheand providing by due process of law for the sexes in asylums or other places and in various sterilisation of persons with inferior hereditary ways preventing intermarriage and the possibilpotentialities, maintained wholly or in part by 18 ities of perpetuating such a low and degenerate publicexpense. ” race.Remediesof thissorthavebeen-triedsuc The bookmadethecasefortheadoptionof sucha cessfully in Europe and are now meeting with lawandtheuseof thestatepowerto“limithuman 16 successinthiscountry. ” reproduction in the interests of race betterment” While he could hardly state it plainly in aand book theprotectionof thecommongood.Thestate, forchildren,theremedythatHunterhadinmind heargued,regularlyexecutedcriminals. - Italsoim was sterilisation. By 1914 the eugenics lobby hadposedmilitaryconscriptiontosendcitizenstothe succeededinhavingsterilisationlawspassed death in to 12 preserve the safety of the nation – a far states.Buttheyhadalsofacedsetbacks–fourBills greater sacrifice than what was required for “the were vetoed by governors and two had been invalelimination of degenerate and handicapped strains 19 idatedbythecourts.By1922fivemorestateshad fromtheracialstocks”. enactedlaws,twoattemptsvetoed,threeoverturned “In compulsory minor surgical treatment and bythecourtsandonehadbeenrepealed.Around in infringement upon personal liberty, in th 3,20 inmates of prisons, insane asylums, homes interests of thegeneralwelfare,thestate’swork fortheepilepticor“feebleminded” - andsimilarin inof vaccination and quarantine is found to be stitutionshadbeensterilised,almost80percent pertinent. Compulsory Vaccination - is analo 17 Yetthepatchworkof statutes theminCalifornia. gous to compulsory eugenical sterilisation to remained constitutionally threadbare and in some the extent that both are non-punitive and that placesfullof holes.InColdSpringHarbour,New York, Harry H Laughlin,assistantdirectorof theboth involve the seizure of the individual and Eugenics Research O{ce (ERO), was convinced subjectinghimorhertosurgicaltreatment.Both thatwhatwasneededwasmodellegislation,alaw vaccination and sterilisation are done supposedly that had been tried, tested and approved by thefor the public good. Vaccination protects the individual and his associates from a serious and SupremeCourtsoitcouldbeimplementedbystates loathsome disease in the more immediate future; across the nation. In 1922, he published Eugenical Sterilization in the United States,whichincludeda eugenical sterilisation protects society from racial 20 degeneracy inthemoreremote future.” ModelEugenicalSterilizationLaw,described as:

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Laughlin worked tirelessly to propagateBUCK his ideas VBELL andoneof thosetowhomhesenthisbookwasOnce Dr Priddy’s choice of Carrie was approved by AlbertPriddy,Superintendentof theVirginia the Colo Colony’sboardof directors,hesetouttobuild nyforEpilepticsandFeebleminded.Aformer a casestate that would place her in the worst possible legislatorandstillactiveintheVirginiaDemocratic light.TheEROdispatchedafieldworkerto- gath party, Priddy’s previous ezorts to sterilise erhis background pa information on her family history, tientshadbeenfrustratedbythecourts.But,armedwhich included unsubstantiated gossip from her with Laughlin’s model legislation, he and neighbours. a party In his records, Priddy summed up colleague, Aubrey Strode, succeeded in passing her condition a as “typical of a low-grade moron”. law promoting the sterilisation of “mental “These defec people,”hewrote,“belongtotheshiftless, tives”for“boththehealthof theindividualignorant, patient and worthless class of antisocial whites and the welfare of society”. The cost to the of state theSouth.” of caring for “degenerate persons” in institutions It was also necessary for the lawyer represent was a consistent theme and sterilisation was held ing Carrie to be in on the plan. Priddy needed out as the possibility of inmates being released into someonewhowouldozeronlytokenresistancebut society without the risk of them bearing children consistently appeal each defeat until it reached the whowouldinevitablybecomeadrainontheSupreme state. Court.IrvingWhiteheadgotthe-jobde Assoonasitwasenacted,Priddyselectedof 16 spitehisobviousconflictof interests.Hewasalegal theColony’sresidentsheconsideredsuitable. adviser Then totheColony’sBoard,apersonalfriendof he put 15 aside and chose the one most likely both to Priddy and Aubrey Strode and an advocate provide a positive outcome in a test case that would of compulsorysterilisation.Strode,asthesponsor secure compulsory sterilisation under the constituof theVirginiaLaw,wouldappearfortheBoard. tion.Thepersononwhomtheaxewasfirsttofall Betrayedbythemanchargedwithdefendingher, 1 2 wasinmatenumber9261 Carrie , Buck. Buckwas theverdictwasaforegoneconclusion–itwasnot 17. Her mother was illegitimate but her parents necessaryforCarrie,oranyonelikeher,toconsen hadbeenmarriedforyears 10 bythetimeshewastosterilisation.Whiteheadimmediatelyfiledforan born in 1906. Her father abandoned the familyappeal,thisnextmilestoneontheroadtotheUS whileshewasstillveryyoungandhadsincedied. Whenhermother,Emma,couldnolongercope,she wascommittedtotheVirginiaColonyandCarrie wasraisedinafosterfamily.AfterCarriebecame pregnant,theynolongerwishedtocareforherand shetoowaslabelled“feebleminded”andplacedin theVirginiaColonyaftergivingbirthtoadaughter, Vivian.Carriewaspoorlyeducatedshe ( spentonly fiveyearsinschool)yetitisnotclearwhethershe had an intellectual disability, hereditary - or other wise. Her parentage and the illegitimacy of her babywasalltheproof thatwasneeded. Recent speculation has suggested that Carrie may have been raped by a member of her foster familyandsentawaytocoverupthecrime.Wemay never know the truth. Either way, it is unlikely to Carrie and Emma Buck at the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and havechangedwhathappenednext. Feebleminded, taken by A.H. Estabrook before the Buck v. Bell trial in Virginia, 1924.

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Eugenics is shown as freeing humanity from its parasitic and diseased elements in this Eugenics Society poster of the1930s.

Supreme Court. Priddy, however, would not live beadded,evenracesmaybebroughtwithinthe to see that and Dr John Bell, his successor at the scope of such regulation, and the worst forms 2 Colony,wouldtakehisplace. of tyrannypractised. ” The case finally reached Washington DC, in 1927.Bythattime,ithadgeneratedconsiderableThedecisioninfavourof theColonywaswritten byOliverWendellHolmes. controversy and its national implications were widely recognised. Whitehead, who had - consis “The judgment finds the facts that have been tently failed to address the case against sterilisarecited and that Carrie Buck ‘is the probable tion, to cross-examine witnesses or even to refute potentialparentof sociallyinadequateozspring falseclaims,nowwarnedof thekindof worldlikewise that aïicted,thatshemaybesexually- ster wouldbecreatedif theVirginialawwasupheld: ilised without detriment to her general health

“If thisActbeavalidenactment,thenthe - lim and that her welfare and that of society will be promoted by her sterilisation,’ and thereupon itsof thepowerof theState(whichintheend makes the order. …We have seen more than is nothing more than the faction in control of once that the public welfare may call upon the the government) to rid itself of those citizens bestcitizensfortheirlives.Itwouldbestrangeif deemedundesirableaccordingtoitsstandards, it could not call upon those who already sap the bymeansof surgicalsterilisation,havenotbeen set.Wewillhave‘establishedintheStatethe - scistrength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, oftennotfelttobesuchbythoseconcerned,in ence of medicine and a corresponding system of order to prevent our being swamped with incomjudicature.’Areignof doctorswill-beinaugurat petence.Itisbetterforalltheworld,if instead edand,inthenameof science,newclasseswill 12

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of waiting to execute degenerate ozspring rie’s 12-yearforold sister and, by that time, Colony crime,ortoletthemstarvefortheirimbecility, inmatenumber1968wastoldshehadtohaveher society can prevent those who are manifestly unappendixremoved.Hermedicalrecords,however, fitfromcontinuingtheirkind.Theprinciple showed that that the true reason for the procedure was sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to sterilise her. Vivian, Carrie’s daughter whom to cover cutting the Fallopian Jacobson tubes. v theSupremeCourtregardedasathird-generation Massachusetts, (197 US 11.)23 Three generations imbecile, showed no signs of learning disabilit 4 2 of imbecilesareenough.” and was an average student. At the age of 8, she contractedmeaslesandthenasecondary, - fatalin Justoneof theninejudges,PierceButler,testinal theonlyinfection.Whenshewasburied,onJune 3 Catholiconthecourt,dissentedbutmadeno - com 931 her ,2 motherwasnotinformed.Carrieherself ment.TheCatholicpresswasgenerallyhostile tototheageof 7,dyingon31January1983. lived the judgement but was not entirely united. Commonweal warned that the broad categories of the AFTERTHECASE–CANADA eugenicists could turn sterilisation into the preferred TheSupremeCourtrulingclearedthepathforthe remedyforpoverty. America rejected the idea of the Virginialawtobeadoptedacrossthegreaterpart country“beingswampedwithincompetence” but USbutitalsohadinfluenceinternationally. of the didnotruleoutsterilisationinallcases. The Vancouver Sun applauded the decision and called The only serious opposition to the judgement forCanadatoadoptthesamepolicy“…thesooner camefromtheNationalCouncilof Catholic 52 ThefollowingyearAlbertapassedthe theMen better”. NCCM) ( which , filedapetitionforarehearing.Less SexualSterilisationAct,whichestablishedaBoard than two per cent of such petitions were successful of Eugenicstoselectinmatesfrominstitutionswho buttheNCCMfelttheissuewastooimportanttomight be released upon their consent (or the consent concede without a fight. With the need to file itsa legal guardian) to be sterilised. However, in of petition within 40 days of the verdict, the group 931 the ,7 requirementof consentwouldbedropped quickly gathered material that could be used. It the number of operations proved to be disapwhen was,perhaps,theonlygenuinedefencethatanyone pointinglylow–about40–andthegovernment hadmadeonbehalf of CarrieBuck.Conscious ofby the Social Credit Party decided that more led anti-Catholic prejudice, however, the-group con 26 drastic measureswereneeded. cluded that it would be advisable to submit the TheonlyotherCanadianProvincetointroduce brief anonymously and unaware of Whitehead’s eugenicsterilisationwasBritish27 Columbia. On1 duplicitytheyapproachedhimtopresentit. When April931 a3, BillwasintroducedtotheLegislative Whiteheadpointedoutthathewouldnotbepaid Assembly and, by 7 April, it had been adopted. todraftapetition,theNCCMpromisedand $10 TheArchbishopof Vancouver,WilliamDukedid thepossibilityof more.Whiteheadtookthe money 28 not speakoutuntiltwoweeksafterithadpassed. and the material but excluded any evidence that It is not clear why the Church in Canada was contradicted the opinion of the eugenics experts so slow to voice its opposition. In 1930, Pius XI on the pretext that he would be criticised for not had explicitly condemned sterilisation and other presentingitsooner.Whenthecourtrefused tore violations of bodily integrity, stating - in his ency hear the case the plan to secure mass sterilisation lical, Casti Conubii: acrossAmericawasfinallycomplete. On19October1927,shortlyafterthepetition “Public magistrates have no direct power over to rehear the case was denied, Carrie Buck wasthe bodies of their subjects; therefore, where takentotheinfirmaryof theVirginiaColonyno andcrimehastakenplaceandthereisnocause sterilised. Not long afterwards, Doris Buck, Car present for grave punishment, they can never

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directly harm, or tamper with the integrity themost of importantcontributionAmericansmade thebody,eitherforthereasonsof eugenics to the orsuccess for of German eugenics was financial. anyotherreason.StThomasteachesthiswhen,Wealthy donors and philanthropic funds, such as inquiringwhetherhumanjudgesforthesake the Rockefeller of and Carnegie foundations, made preventingfutureevilscaninflictpunishment, large grants he to eugenics research in Germany as well admits that the power indeed exists as regards asBritain,France,Romaniaandothercountries. certainotherformsof evil,butjustly - andprop ClosetiesbetweentheUSandGermanywere erlydeniesitasregardsthemaimingof the well body. establishedwhentheNaziregimecame - topow ‘Noonewhoisguiltlessmaybepunisheder. bya In July 1933, a little less than six months after human tribunal either by flogging to death,Hitler or became Chancellor, Gesetz the zur Verhütung 9 2 mutilation,orbybeating.’” erbkranken Nachwuchses (Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Ozspring) was introduced. The records of sterilisations in British Columbia inbothcountrieswereardent Eugenicists - support have largely been lost or destroyed. Theers records of thelaw. of theAlbertaBoardof Eugenics,whicharemore Californian eugenicist Paul Popenoe, who had extensive,showthatper 64 centof thosesterilised beeninstrumentalinlegalisingsterilisation inAlbe werewomen,per 06 centwereundertheageof ,52 BritishColumbia,quotedfrom taand Mein Kampf as per 20 centunderand 16 themajorityweresingle, examplesof howGermanywas“proceedingtoward unemployedorunskilled.Onceinvoluntary steril a policy that will accord with the best thought of isationwasintroducedin193a7, disproportionate eugenicistsinallcivilisedcountries”.Popenoe numberof RomanCatholicandGreekOrthodox helped organise an exhibit featuring sterilisation Albertans were sterilised, along with eastern Eu initiatives inGermanyforthe193meeting 4 of the ropeans.Mostrevealingof all,however,the native AmericanPublicHealthAssociation. Metis people, who represented only 2.5 per cent HarryLaughlin,whoreceivedanhonorary doc of Alberta’spopulation,accountedforover per 25 fromtheUniversityof Heidelbergin1936, torate 30 centof thosesterilised. returned with the Nazi propaganda Erbkrank film 2 3 (The Hereditary Defective) anddistributeditintheUS RASSENHYGIENE for the next three years. He also published - trans It would be an oversimplification to suggest that of GermanarticlesinhisEugenical lations journal, the success of the eugenics movement in theOne US of thosearticleswasaspeechdelivered News. inspired the proponents of what Germans called byWilhelmFrick,amemberof Hitler’s3 cabinet. Rassenhygiene – “racial hygiene” – but the connec Laughlintoldhiscolleague,MadisonGrantauthor ( tionsbetweenthetwonationswerebroad,deep andPassing of the Great Race)that of The , Fricksounded mutually beneficial. Even before the First World likeaperfectlygoodAmericaneugenicistbutwith War, intellectuals in Germany viewed human - na the dizerence that Frick was not a mere scientist 31 ture through the lens of Darwin’s theories. The buta“powerfulReichsministerinadictatorial gov economic crisis, brought on by the defeat of the which is getting things34 done… ernment It was ” Central Powers, made the false promises of eu animportant dizerence.From1934untilthe - out genicsseemallthemoreappealingtothe Weimar breakof thewar,roughly360,Germanswere government.WhileGermanproponentsof racial sterilised –morethanthirty-fivetimesthenumber hygiene could learn from the failures,estimated as well as intheUSbetween1907to1930. 35 from the victories, of their American colleagues, TheNationalSocialiststatewasusheringin“the both countries were able to draw on a range of reignof doctors”thatIrvingWhitehead - hadpre policies, legislative proposals and research from dicted and, indeed, “the worst forms of tyranny” the international eugenics movement which pubweresoontofollow.TheEglfing-Haarasylumnear lishedpapersandorganisedconferences. Perhaps Munich startedselectinginmatesforsterilisationi 14

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oztopreventthemfromspreading”.Whilethiswas never a realistic option for the eugenics movement in the US, it became a reality in Nazi Germany. To educate the public about the burden the - “un fit”placedonGermansociety,toursof institutions wereregularlyorganised.Intheautumnof 1939, whichtheNazisdeclaredtheyearof “thedutyto be healthy”, Ludwig Lehner was a visitor to the Eglfing-Haar asylum near Munich. He later gave anaccountof whathesaw.

“Afterwehadvisitedanumberof otherwards, theasylumdirector,whowascalledPfannmüller ledusintoachildren’sward.…Inaboutfifteen bedstherewereasmanychildren,allaged be tweenaboutoneandfiveyearsold.I… remem ber the following as a condensed account of thesenseof whatPfannmüllerhadtosay:‘Asa NationalSocialist,thesecreatureshe ( meantthe aforementionedchildren)naturally - onlyrepr Poster published by Neues Volk ("New People"), a magazine sent to me a burden upon the healthy body of published by the Rassepolitischen Amt der NSDAP (Office of Racial our nation. We don’t kill (he may have used a Policy of the Nazi Party), while they were in power, c.1937. more circumlocutory expression instead of the The poster says: "60 000 RM is what this person suffering from hereditary illness costs the community in his lifetime. Fellow citizen, word‘kill’)withpoison,injectionsetc,sinceth that is your money too. Read Neues Volk. The monthly magazine of would only give the foreign press and certain the Office of Racial Policy of the NSDAP" gentlemeninSwitzerlandnewhate-propaganda material. No: as you see, our method is much late931 Of .3 thepatients 051 sterilisedin931 97,4 simpler and more natural.’ With these words, weremenandwere 35 women.Of these,801 were andassistedbyanursewhoworkedinthisward, diagnosed as schizophrenic, 2 were congenitally hepulledoneof thechildrenoutof bed.Ashe “feebleminded”, seven suzered from depression, displayedthechildaroundlikeadeadhare,he ninefromepilepsy,threefromalcoholism andone pointed out,withaknowinglookandacynical was said to have hereditary blindness. These - pro grin, ‘This one will last another two or three portions were to remain fairly steady in subsequent days.’Theimageof thisfat,grinningman,with years.63 By931 9,itsdirector,HermannPfannmüller, thewhimperingskeletoninhisfleshy - hand,sur alsoranaeugenicadvisoryclinicinAugsburgwhere roundedbyotherstarvingchildren,isstillclear localmedical,youthandwelfareservicesreferred beforemyeyes.Furthermore,themurderer de individuals with undesirable traits to be assessed. clared that they were not suddenly withdrawing Pfannmüllerbeganbyseparating“asocialdrinkers, food,butrathergraduallyreducingtherations. grumblers,refractoryparasitesandwork- shypsy Aladywhoalsotookpartinthetourasked,with chopaths”andsentthemtoconcentrationcamps. anoutrageshehaddi{cultysuppressing,wheth Therestweresentforcompulsorysterilisation. eraquickdeathaidedbyinjectionswouldnotbe Before the Butler Act, schoolchildren in Tenmerciful.Pfannmüllersangthepraisesof more nessee were taught that the inmates of poorhouses hismethodsoncemore,asbeingmorepractical 37 andasylumswere“parasites”and“[i]f suchpeople intermsof theforeign press.” were lower animals, we would probably kill them S PR I NG 2 0 22

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Pfannmüller was an active participant in - the eu unfit,andhumanlifeisvaluableonlywhenitis thanasia programme. In the children’s ward of at usetothecommunityorrace. Eglfing-Haar, morethan 30 children werekilled “…the remedy has been found, and can be by 1940. In two of the “hunger houses” of the and mercifully applied. A rigid system institution,helet40patientsdieof starvationquickly or of selection through the elimination of those drugoverdosesfrom194onwards. 3 Lehner’s - testi monywaspresentedatPfannmüller’strialin951 .1 who are weak or unfit – in other words, social – would solve the whole question in a He was convicted and sentenced to five yearsfailures in century, as well as enable us to get rid of the prison.Thiswasreducedtofouryearsonappeal. undesirableswhocrowdourjails,hospitalsand HewoulddieinMunichin1961.38 insaneasylums.41 ” The apparent purpose of asylum tours was to persuade the public that a quick death of-theBrandt in also submitted excerpts from Human Selecmateswouldbeabetteroutcomeforeveryone. tion On and Eugenics by Fritz Lenz, which reproduced 1 September 1939, around the time of Lehner’s passages from Harry Laughlin’s Eugenical - Steril visit to Eglfing-Haar, the so-called “adult eutha izationintheUnitedStates.Thesectionchosenby nasia” programme was initiated in the belief that Brandt, reveals the true magnitude of Laughlin’s thewarwoulddeflectoppositiontothepolicy. And ambitions. Itstates: yet it was not undertaken openly. The state - med ical bureaucracy was bypassed and instead,-Hit “…approxannual 10, sterilisationsshould lerinstructedpeoplefromhisinnercircle be made –Philip in the United States during the first Bouhler,asenioro{cialintheChancelleryand years, Dr rising to approx 40, annually until KarlBrandt,hispersonalphysician–toauthorise 1980. By then about 15 million mentally defi specifieddoctorsto Gnadentod grant –“mercydeath” cient persons would have been sterilised. … It 39 Bouhler –topatientsjudgedtobeincurably sick. cannot be denied that the carrying-out of such wouldtakehisownlifeinAlliedcustodyin194an 5, elaborate program would substantially conbut Brandt would later be executed for his medical tributetothehealthof thenation.Itis-notpos experimentsandthekillingof inmates - inthe sible, con however,toputthisintoezectinAmerica centrationcamps.USprosecutors,however,chose atpresent.ItonlyfailsbecauseinAmericapublic nottopursuecrimesdirectedatGermancivilians. opinion has not yet been su{ciently informed Athistrial,Brandtquotedtheworksof eugenicists asjustificationof Nazipolicies.Thisincluded ex cerpts from The Passing of the Great Race by Harry 40 Laughlin’sfriendandcolleague,Madison Grant. “Indiscriminateezortstopreservebabiesamong the lower classes often result in serious injury to therace.Attheexistingstageof civilisation,the legalising of birth control would probably be of benefitbyreducingthenumberof ozspring in the undesirable classes. …Mistaken regard for what are believed to be divine laws and a sentimental belief in the sanctity of human life tend to prevent both the elimination of defective infants and the sterilisation of such adults as are themselvesof novaluetothecommunity.The Portrait of Karl Brandt as a defendant in the Medical Case Trial at laws of nature require the obliteration of the Nuremberg, 1947.

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“Leading American eugenicists quietly sought to distance themselves from their past but they did not go away. They were moved to the fringes of academia, or at least forced to drop their openly racist agenda and change their terminology: instead of eugenics and sterilisation, they now supported ‘genetics’ and ‘family planning’.”

43 Fifteen years later defect” of Down syndrome. KarlBrandtwasontrialforhislifefor-similarex 4 periments. OtherdefendantsattheDoctorsTrialalso - point ed to American support for their racial hygiene measuresbut,ratherthanstrengthentheirdefence, this only succeeded in further damaging the already tarnished image of eugenics, which was never to recover. Thecrimesof theNaziera“outraged-thecon 54 and led directly to the adopscienceof mankind”, tionof theNuremberg64 Code which,amongother things,prohibitsexperimentsonunwillingsubjects andtherea{rmationof Hippocraticethicsinthe Declarationof Geneva,bindingdoctorstorespect Madison Grant 47 alllifefromconception. Ironically,whiletheeugeniclawswererepeale of the urgency of an elaborate program of euinGermany,sterilisationsunderpre-warlegislation genics. I hold that a 10% sterilisation in every carriedoninCanada,Denmark,Norway,Sweden, 42 great.” generationisbynomeanstoo 84 ThiswasalsotrueintheUS, FinlandandEstonia. wheretheprecedentsetintheBuckcaseremained He also submitted material on the use of X-rays inthat place.Inthe941 s0 ands,05 FrJohnCooganSJ,a forsterilisation.Hemaywellhavebeenaware professorof sociologyatDetroitUniversity,becam Laughlin had already carried out similar expericonvincedthatthecasewaswronglydecided.Since mentsintheUS.Indeed,inmatesinUSinstitutions, the theintelligencetestsusedtolabelCarrie’s including the Virginia Colony, had been the921 s,0 sub mother as “feebleminded” had been discredited. ject of experiments by both civilian and military He had written to Harry Laughlin but received no scientists. responsefromhim;andtheERO,whichprovided While it was not made public at the time, one the damninghistoryof theBuckfamily,claimedto such experimental surgery was performed by Charles Davenport, Laughlin’s boss at the ERO. havenoinformation.HequestionedwhyCarrie’s defence had consistently failed to challenge the acIn 1929, Davenport castrated a resident who suf cusationslevelledatherandhecriticisedHolmes fered from dwarfism, at New York’s Letchworth mischaracterisation of the evidence. - But Fr Coo Villageforthe“feebleminded”.Theprocedure was ezortsfailedtopersuadetheSupremeCourt expectedtoprovidesomeinsightintothegan’s “inherited

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“In North America and Europe, sterilisation laws … remained on the statute books until the 1970s. It may not be a coincidence that abortion was becoming widely available at roughly the same time these laws were repealed.”

tooverturnitsruling,eventhoughHolmes’ Actwords areconsideredaviolationof theFirst Amend 2 5 werecitedbythedefendantsinNuremberg.ment. Whileprayersinpublicschoolsarebanned, Madison haddiedin1937,whichsparedhim families find their children being subjected to in the disgrace of being cited in Brandt’s creasingly defence.radicaltheoriesandsocialengineer HarryLaughlindiedin194having 3, retiredthree somethingWilliamJenningsBryanhadforeseenin years earlier when the Carnegie Foundation 921 Preparing .5 cut hisclosingstatementintheScopes his funding. By that time, he was suzering from trial,hewrote: epilepsy, a condition that, under his own Model “If civilisationistobesavedfromthewreckage, Law, would have made him a target for compul threatened by intelligence not consecrated by sory sterilisation. He and his wife were childless. love,on itmustbesavedbythemoralcodeof the PaulPopenoetooktocallinghimself anexpert meek and lowly Nazarene. His teachings, and family and marriage counselling. Other leading Histeachings,alone,cansolvetheproblemsthat American eugenicists quietly sought to distance 53 themselvesfromtheirpastbuttheydidnotgoaway.vextheheartandperplextheworld….” In the words of Egbert Klautke from University This too is the lesson of Casti Conubii. Pius XI’s CollegeLondon,theywere“movedtotheuncompromising fringes condemnation of sterilisation was of academia,oratleastforcedtodroptheir openly of crucial importance. Without it, eugenics could racist agenda and change their terminology: instead well have spread into southern and eastern Eu of eugenics and sterilisation, they now supported rope,norwouldtheCatholiclaityhavemobilised 94 Thehistoric ‘genetics’and‘familyplanning’. ” links tofightthecultureof deaththatgreweverywhere between the eugenics movement and the abortion its philosophy took root. However, the Church’s andbirthcontrolindustryinboththeUSand - Brit relationship with secular powers and institutions 50 ainarewelldocumented. isnotasunambiguousasitoncewas.In2015the In North America and Europe, sterilisation HolySeedeclareditssupportfortheanti- life,an lawsintendedtopreventtheignorant,-the“feeble ti-familyUNSustainableDevelopmentGoalswhich minded” and even the poor from having children includetargetaimed 3.7, atensuringuniversal ac remained on the statute books until the 1970s. It cess,tosexualandreproductivehealthcareservices, may not be a coincidence that abortion was bethatisbirthcontrolandabortionbyIn 203. turn, coming widely available at roughly the same time Pope Francis’ focus on the environment has been theselawswererepealed–apoint,highlighted warmlyin welcomed by advocates of population con902 bytheUSSupremeCourtJustice,RuthBader trol. (There is no clearer illustration of this ne Ginsberg when she told a journalist at the New York approachthanPopeFrancis’appointmentof Prof Times:“Frankly,IhadthoughtthatatthetimeRoe Jezery Sachs, the architect of the SDGs, to the was decided there was concern about population PontificalAcademyof SocialSciences.The ) goals growth and particularly growth in populations that of the modern eugenicists extend far beyond the wedon’twanttohavetoomany51of.” boundariesof NorthAmericaandEuropeanddeep While compulsory sterilisation is-still compati into thedevelopingworld.Withouttheleadership ble with the US Constitution, laws like the Butler 18

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In 1978, however, it was discovered that despite the absence of any legislation of theHolySee,the“reignof doctors”todaycould hundreds of sterilisations were, nonetheless, being carried out each year in Ontario. Ibid, p 104. see forms of tyranny on a scale so terrible that they Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 31 December 1930, 70. couldsurpasseventhoseof the20thcentury. McLaren, p 160. 27.

28.

29. 30. 31.

ENDNOTES: 1.

3. 4.

8. 9.

10. 11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16. 17.

18.

19. 20. 21.

22. 23.

24. 25.

26.

Anya Kamenetz, “Why education was a top voter priority this election” NPR 4 November 2021. See, for example, Peter Wood, “Teaching That America Is Hopelessly Racist”. Minding the Campus: Reforming our Universities, 9 September 2019. https://www. mindingthecampus.org/2019/09/09/teaching-that-america-is-hopelessly-racist/ Thomas Sowell, Race and Culture: A World View (Basic Books, 1994), p 117. “Democrats Say They Must Prevent Republicans from Becoming the ‘Party of Parents’ in 2022”, The Post Millennial, 4 November 2021. Gustaf Kilander, “US states have introduced 137 bills limiting what schools can teach on race, history, sexual orientation, and gender”. The Independent, 6 February 2022. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ schools-teach-race-history-gender-b2008438.html Will Bunch, “‘Gag orders’ for US teachers are becoming our new McCarthyism”. 27 January 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Julia Carrie Wong, “The ACLU on fighting critical race theory bans: ‘It’s about our country reckoning with racism’”, The Guardian, 1 July 2021. https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/01/aclu-fights-state-bans-teaching-criticalrace-theory Inherit the Wind, Stanley Kramer (Director), Lomitas Productions Inc, 1960. Kenneth K Bailey, “Six Days or Forever? Tennessee v John Thomas Scopes by Ray Ginger: Review”, The Journal of Southern History, 24, 4 (1958), p 529-31. Ray Ginger, Six Days or Forever? Tennessee v John Thomas Scopes (OUP, 1974) p 4. George William Hunter, Civic Biology: Presented in Problems (American Book Co, 1914). Bryan, a distinguished speaker, had run three times for the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party in the elections of 1896, 1900, and 1908. In 1924, Darrow acted as the defence attorney of two wealthy teenagers and disciples of Fredrick Nietzsche who randomly murdered the 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Darrow saved the killers from the death penalty after a 12-hour long closing statement. H L Mencken, A religious orgy in Tennessee: a reporter’s account of the Scopes “monkey” trial. Articles originally published in The Baltimore Sun, The Nation, or The American Mercury. (Melville House, 2006). Mencken was a racist and eugenicist but disapproved of the kind of violence associated with the Ku Klux Klan. Nevertheless, his views on race went handin-hand with his views on evolution. In a review of a book of essays by leading black intellectuals, he wrote: “The vast majority of people of their race are but two or three inches removed from gorillas: it will be a sheer impossibility, for a long, long while, to interest them in anything above pork-chops and bootleg gin.”— H L Mencken, “The Aframerican: New Style”, The American Mercury, February 1926, p 254-55. Hunter p 262 Kallikak is a fictional name. The academic credibility of the study of the Kallikak Family by H H Goddard has been widely questioned, see: James W Dennert, “The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeble-Mindedness (1912), by Henry Herbert Goddard”. Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 30 July 2021. Ibid, p 263. Jonas Robitscher, (ed), Eugenic Sterilization (Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, 1973), p 123, cited by Lombardo. Harry H Laughlin, Eugenical Sterilization in the United States (Psychopathic Laboratory of the Municipal Court of Chicago, 1922). Laughlin’s “Model Eugenical Sterilization Law” was used as the basis by more than 30 states in America who passed sterilization legislation and by Germany in 1933. See Rachel Gur-Arie, "Harry Hamilton Laughlin (1880-1943)". Embryo Project Encyclopedia, 19 December 2014. Ibid, p 339. Ibid. Information on Carrie Buck cited here is mainly from Paul A Lombardo Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court and Buck v Bell (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). US Reports: Buck v Bell, 274 US 200 (1927), p 202. “It is within the police power of a State to enact a compulsory vaccination law, and it is for the legislature, and not for the courts…” US Supreme Court, Jacobson v Massachusetts, 197 US 11 (1905) 20 February 1905, p 197. Ibid, p 207. Vancouver Sun, 25 May 1927, p 16, cited by Angus McLaren, Our Own Master Race: Eugenics in Canada 1885-1945 (OUP, 1990). McLaren, p 100.

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33. 34. 35.

36.

37. 38. 39.

40. 41.

42.

43. 44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

For example, German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) promoted the erroneous idea that foetal development progressed through various stages of the evolutionary process before emerging as human. The theory was discredited and Haeckel was accused of falsifying his research. Despite this, such claims remained influential with proponents of eugenics and especially eugenic abortion. See Nick Hopwood, Haeckel’s embryos: images, evolution, and fraud (Chicago Uni, 2015). Erbkrank, Herbert Gerdes (Director), NSDAP, “Reichsleitung, Rassenpolitisches Amt” (Office of Racial Policy) 1936. Frick was executed at Nuremberg on 16 October 1946. Lombardo, p 202. Sheila Faith Weiss, Race Hygiene and National Efficiency: The Eugenics of Wilhelm Schallmayer (Uni California Press, 1987), p 154-5. Michael Burleigh, Death and Deliverance: ‘Euthanasia’ in Germany 1900-1945 (CUP, 1994), p 61. Ibid, p 45. Ibid, various pages. Robert N Proctor, Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the Nazis (Harvard Uni Press, 1988), p 177. Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race, (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1936). Ibid, ex pp 49-51. The text above is quoted in the word of the 1936 English language version. The text as it was submitted by Brandt is available at the website of the Harvard Law School Library - Nuremberg Trials Project. NMT 1, Exhibit Code: Brandt, K. 60, HLSL Item No: 2706. Harvard Law School Library – Nuremberg Trials Project. NMT 1, Extracts from a book concerning eugenics and sterilization Excerpt from Fritz Lenz: “Human Selection and Eugenics” Defendant: Karl Brant. Exhibit Code: Brandt, K. 60, HLSL Item No: 2706. Lombardo, p 240. He was executed on 2 June 1948 at Landsberg Prison, Landsberg am Lech, Germany. Preamble, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948 (General Assembly res 217 A). The Nuremberg Principles (From Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No 10. Nuremberg, October 1946 – April 1949. Washington, DC: US, GPO 1949–1953). The Doctor’s Oath, Declaration of Geneva, Adopted by the 2nd General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Geneva, Switzerland, September 1948. Nils Roll-Hansen notes: “It is striking how the introduction of sterilization laws in Europe in the 1930s was a phenomenon of Protestant countries. Under liberal democratic political conditions such laws were introduced only in countries where the Lutheran denomination was dominant, namely Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Estonia. Germany has a northern Lutheran part and a southern part dominated by Catholics. Here the sterilization law was introduced only after the Nazis had taken over. In some other countries with strong Protestant traditions sterilisation laws were up for serious consideration but rejected, as, for instance in England, Holland, and Czechoslovakia.” Nils Roll-Hansen in “Norwegian Eugenics: Sterilization as Social Reform”, Gunnar Broberg & Nils Roll-Hansen (eds) Eugenics and the welfare state: sterilization policy in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, (Michigan State Uni Press, 2005), p 186. Egbert Klautke “‘The Germans are beating us at our own Game’: American Eugenics and the German Sterilization Law of 1933”, History of the Human Sciences, 02, 2016, p 13. See, for example, Ann Farmer, By Their Fruits: Eugenics, Population Control, and the Abortion Campaign (Catholic University of America Press, 2008). Emily Bazelon, “The Place of Women on the Court”, New York Times Magazine, (7 July 2009). In Engel v Vitale, 370 US 421 (1962) the Supreme Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment and in 1968, it accepted a case challenging a 1928 Arkansas law that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools. In Epperson v Arkansas, the court declared the law to be unconstitutional because it violated the establishment clause. The Butler Act had been repealed the previous year. Frank A Pattie, “The Last Speech of William Jennings Bryan.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, (6) 3, Tennessee Historical Society, 1947, pp 265–83.

Christ Healing the Blind (ca.1570). El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

THE CHURCH MEDICINE

MEDICINAL ROOTS OF THE TREE OF LIFE b y P E T E R N E WM A N

and those of St Paul, “if one member suzer any 1 it thing,allthememberssuzerwith it”, is easy to seewhythecompassionof thesaints–andeventhat of purespirits–hasseldomlimiteditself topurely spiritualworksof mercy.Physicalsickness,infirmity andcorruptibility–consequencesof originalsin,o whichtheyaretheimage–werethespecialobject of Our Lord’s public life; occasions on which He manifestedHisdivineauthorityandcharity,which “if theywerewritteneveryone,theworlditself… wouldnotbeabletocontainthebooksthatshould bewritten.”Whatistrueof theearthlyministryof Our Lord Jesus Christ is all the more true of His Mystical Body. Let us consider the inexhaustible bountyof God–inHisangelsandinHissaints– wherewithHehaslavishedHisbenefitsthroughout thehistoryof HisChurch;fromtheuprootingof theTreeof Life,afterthesinof ourfirstparents,to itsrestorationonCalvaryuntiltheendof theworld. Asitisimpossible“tosetforthinorderanarration of the things that have been accomplished among us”, 2 let us briefly consider how this mystery was sownintheearthof theOldTestamentandhow itsrootsfeditsfirstfloweringintheearlyChurch. Fresco of the Tree of Life (ca.1340) in the refectory of the convent of Santa Croce, Florence, by Taddeo Gaddi (1290–1366). TheHolyGhostinspiredthePsalmist,making hisprayerthemodelof prayerfortheChurch;the “Who will cure my soul if not Thou, O Christ, the only Psalms are, so to speak, the tonic of the Mystical Physician of souls! Where will I find a remedy for the disease Bodyof Christ;theRoyalProphet,chosen - tointer of my soul, if not with Thee, O Fountain of healing! Thou pretthedeepestsentiments,notonlyof theHead, Who didst cure the ailing woman, cure also my soul from butof allthemembers,callsthelattertoacknowl the ruin of sin.” (StEphrem,DeaconandDoctorof edgetheirneedtobehealed,bothphysically:“Have theChurch) mercyonme,OLord,forIamweak:healme,O Lord,formybonesaretroubled”;andspiritually: here is scarcely a saint whose heroic imitation “OLord,bethoumercifultome:healmysoul,for of OurLordJesusChristhasnotbeenprac 3 Ihavesinnedagainstthee. ” tised,atonetimeoranother,inthecareof theThe sick. priests of the old law were required to have Meditating on Christ’s words, “They that areacertain in degreeof medicalknowledge,sincepa healthneednotaphysician,buttheythatareill”; of their o{ce was to diagnose leprosy and other

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diseases,forritualpurposesaswellasfor - the Soon comafter,whenHezakiahfoundhimself gravely monwelfareof thepeople:“Thepriestill shall and view givenuptodeath–aplausibleindicationof him,andshalljudgethattheleprosywhichhehas hisculpability–theprophetIsaiahwassenttotell isveryclean:becauseitisallturnedintowhiteness, him, “Thus saith the Lord the God of David thy andthereforethemanshallbeclean.”TheChurch father:Ihaveheardthyprayer,andIhaveseenthy discernshereafigureof thesacramentof - Confes tears:andbeholdIhavehealedthee…AndIwill sion. Much later, the Wise Man would exhort alladdtothydaysfifteenyears.6The ” king’sapparent thefaithfulto“Honourthephysicianforthe iconoclasm need maynothavebeenoverzealous.Aneerie thou hast of him: for the most High hath created likeness of the brazen serpent, to which some of him…Forthereisatimewhenthoumustfallinto Hezakiah’ssubjectshadozeredincense,wassoonto their hands… He that sinneth in the sight of his resurface among the pagans in the form of the rod 4 Maker,shallfallintothehandsof thephysician. of ”Asclepius.Thefalsecultof thegodof medicine ItisrecordedintheBookof Numbersthat, – which by also honoured his children and helpers – his prayers, Moses obtained the cure of hiswas sister thelastinhistorytobeinitiatedintotheGreek Miriam,struckwithleprosyforhavingmurmured pantheon.LiketheAthenians’altartotheunknown againstGod;soonafter,whenIsraelwasscourged god,fromwhichStPaulwouldprofitinhisdiscourse byaplagueof venomoussnakesforthesamefault, ontheAreopagus(Acts:17),thecultof Asclepius his intercession prevailed in obtaining a profusion isonlyoneof amyriadof cyphersinthegentile’ of thesamemercybyextraordinarymeans:“And search for the Author of Life, Who was not to be Mosesprayedforthepeople.AndtheLordsaid found to outsidethelightof revelation,noryettobe him:Makeabrazenserpent,andsetitupforasign: knownbutthroughthepagesof holyscripture:“the 5 whosoeverbeingstruckshalllookonit,shall leaves live.of ” thetree…forthehealingof thenations”. Thusappearedoneof theearliestandmoststriking At any rate, the cult of Asclepius would remain figuresof ChristintheOldTestament. so engraved in Hellenic-Roman culture that, one WhenHezakiahcametothethroneof Judah,his centuryafterCalvary,whenpaganRomeswooned, zealforthetruecultof thetemple,andabsolute “drunk ab with the blood of the saints, and with the 7 two consecutive horrenceof idolatry,drovehimtothe - drastic blood mea of the martyrs of Jesus”, sureof havingthebrazenserpentbrokentosuccessors pieces. of StPeter–StTelesphoreand - StHy ginus – who consummated their pontificates with thecrownof martyrdom,werethemselvesnamed aftertwoof Asclepius’children. OurLordHimself,earlyinHispubliclife,would revealtoNicodemus,intheobscurityof night,“And asMoseslifteduptheserpentinthedesert,somust the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever be lieveth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting.”DuringHisfirstdiscourse“inhisown 8 Jesus also proposed the figures of Elias country”, resurrectingthesonof thePhoenicianwidow,and of ElisiuscuringNaaman,thechief generalof the 9 two occasions on which it pleased king of Syria; theGodof Israeltomanifesthisomnipotentmercy to the gentiles; to the poorest as well as to the most powerful.Itisnotwithoutacertainsublimeirony People writhe in pain among the fiery serpents as Moses produces that,afterthemanyyearsof OurLord’shiddenlife the brazen serpent. Line engraving after F. Fenzoni (1562–1645). Wellcome Collection, London.

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atNazareth,asHestoodbeforeHisformer- neigh boursandrelations,“hesaidtothem:Doubtlessyou will say to me this similitude: Physician, heal thyself”. ForwhomhadtheSonof Godtakenfleshif notfor themembersof HisownMysticalBody?Whyhad He chosen a ministry of healing if not to announce the restoration of the Tree of Life – hidden, not only from Israel, but from the whole of - humani ty?HowwouldHe“reconcilebothtoGodinone body” if not by making Himself “unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles 10 WherewouldHerevealHimself to foolishness”? bethetrueTreeof Life,if notontheCross,which thebrazenserpentcouldonlyforeshadow? In regard to the subject at hand, the richness of the gospel – and of the person – of St Luke is tooprofoundforanyjusticetobedonetoithere. His descriptions of the diseases that Jesus cured correspondsopreciselytothemedicalknowledge and nomenclature of the time as to permit little doubt as to the authenticity of his gospel or to the Madonna Advocata factthatthe“Evangelistof thegentiles” - washim own perspective ontheJoyfulMysteries - of theRo self a physician. The intrinsic evidence for this is sary, but also that of the Virgin Mother of God, overwhelming, with medical terms slipping into who “keptallthesewords,ponderingtheminher hisgospelevenwhereunexpected,suchasin Our 12 Traditionteachesus–andthedistinctive heart”. Lord’scomparisonof “theeyeof aneedle”(Luke 18:25), which St Luke renders velónis: the Greek Hebrew character of the text confirms – that the termforasurgicalneedle.Itseemsthat,evendoctor when of Antiochbasedhisaccountonthedirect testimonyof theVirginMotherof God.Through himself aninstrumentof theHolyGhost,StLuke Mary,theHolyGhostbestoweduponStLukethe stillhasmedicineonhismind.Asfortheextrinsic intimaterevelationof theconception,theli evidence, we need not look further-thanmost the testi in theto womb and the birth of Jesus, as well as of monyof theApostleof thegentiles,whowrites StJohntheBaptist.Anditmustnotbeoverlooked the Colossians, “Luke, the most dear physician, salutethyou”.StPaulalsowritestoStTimothy,in that Our Holy Mother’s response to the message of theArchangelGabriel–aresponsewhichmade what would be his last Epistle before his-martyr dom, “Only Luke is with me”,1 revealing that St God man and changed the eternal destiny of the human Luke,evertruetohismétier,tohismentorand to race – also included her prompt despatch on an errand of mercy, to care for her cousin St hisdivinemodelandmaster,caredforStPauleven Elizabeth, “her that is called barren”, in the final to the threshold of heaven; easing the wounds of stages of her miraculous pregnancy. Here we see hislongandturbulentministry,feltsosorely inhis theincomparableunionof OurLadywiththeMost finalcaptivity. And who can read the first two chapters of St HolyTrinity,bothinwillandaction,recapitulated continuously inthiscorporalworkof mercy,which Luke without emotion, especially in this month broughtaboutthesanctificationof StJohnthe - Bap of the Annunciation? (See page 67 the Sermon tist in the womb of St Elizabeth, her being filled of Saint Bernard). Not only do we read here his

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with Holy Ghost; the glorification of the unborn The great catechist Canon Marcel describes Son of God and of His Holy Mother in the - con medicineas“anartfullof responsibilities, demand tinuation of the Ave Maria; and, in response, Our ingcompetentknowledge,proportionateattenti Lady’sMagnificat. All of the three canticles of tothe the seriousness of conditions, the observatio New Testament are recorded exclusively in not these only of justice but of charity.” He adds that chapters, which, along with the perfection “Doctors of St and surgeons must warn their patients Luke’s Greek prose, highlight his distinction, of thenot graveness of their condition, so that they onlyasaphysician,butasanartist.Suchauniverse may be advised of their temporal and spiritual inof blessings in so short a passage of holy scripture terests.15 ”St Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, isaforetasteof theendlessgraceswhichOur makes Lord explicit that the end of the old law was to would accord to corporal works of mercy inspire in the thepeopleof Israelwithahorrorof sin Christianera;provingthat“hismercyis-from profound gen understanding of their need to be healed 13 erationuntogenerations,tothemthatfear him. andan ” unshakablefaithinGod’spromisetosend There is another thread of the legacy “the ofDoctor St of souls”. Among his final counsels, Luke’s profession and artistic genius, which St Paul exhorts has the Hebrews: “And hospitality do endured well past the bloody Roman persecution notforget;forbythissome,beingnotawareof it, and even to the present day. The Maria Advocata, haveentertainedangels.” alsoknownas Santa Maria in Tempuloorsimply“the TheArchangelRaphaelannouncedtoOld - To Madonna of Saint Luke” is a miraculous iconbias, ofwhosecharityandzealforcorporalmercyhad Our Lady, attributed to the patron of physicians left him blinded, “Be of good courage, thy cure andhousedtodayattheMonasteryof SantaMaria from God is at hand”. Here, the angelic patron del Rosario in Rome. One of the greatest of trea physicians reassures, not only a man of faith, sures of Christian art, St Luke’s original portrait butallthefaithful,of thelong-suzeringbywhich of Our Lady is almost certainly the basis ofthey allwould possess their souls; the time was coming Hodegetriae (icons in which Mary is “pointing when the theSonof Godwouldsay,“Iwillcomeand 16 However,wemustnotforgetStPaul’s way” to her Son). After Pope Pelagius II diedheal of him”. theplagueinFebruary590the , Chairof Peter - reexhortationto“hospitality”,northespiritualvalue mained vacant for over six months, during which of visitingthesick;therealityof whichwedowell thesameplaguedevastatedRome.Finally,achronic to remember, saying with the Angelic Doctor, “I invalid was elected to navigate the barque of the approach as one who is sick to the Physician of 17 Church through this new storm and he immedi life. ” ately began preaching penance with supernatural ENDNOTES: energy. While he was carrying Maria theAdvocata Mt 9:12; 1 Cor 12:26. inasolemnprocessionthroughthecity,StMichael Jn 21:25; Luke 1:1. Ps 6:3; 40:5. theArchangelappearedabovetheMausoleumof Lev 13:13; Ecc 38:1,13,15. Nb 12:13; 21:7,8. Hadrian–nowtheCastel Sant’Angelo–wherehewas 4 Kg 18:4; 20:5,6. seensheathinghisswordasasignthatRome’sworks Ap 22:2; 17:6. Jn 3:14–15; Lk 4:24–27. of penance had prevailed in obtaining a judgment 3 Kg 17; 4 Kg 5. Eph 2:16;the 1 Cor 1:23. of mercy from the divine justice. Soon after, Col 4:14; 2 Tim 4:11. plagueceased.StGregorytheGreat,thelastof theLk 2:19;51. Lk 1:36,50. 14 would fourgreatDoctorsof theRomanChurch, The four doctors of the Roman Church are St Ambrose (c 339–397), St Jerome (c 342–420), go on to rule for fourteen years, during which heSt Augustine (354–430) and St Gregory the Great (540–604). L.-E. Marcel, Dictionnaire de culture religieuse et catéchistique (Besançon, 1938) would codify the liturgy for ages to come, record p 421. Tob 5:13; Mt 8:7. the history of the Church and of her saints, and Heb 13:2; the prayer of St Thomas Aquinas before Holy Communion. despatchthesonsof SaintBenedict,chargedwith theconversionof BritaintotheCatholicfaith. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

15.

16. 17.

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Professor Jérôme Lejeune, the French geneticist, who was elected president of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children in 1987, is pictured at SPUC’s 1983 conference in Manchester with, from left to right, John Smeaton, SPUC General Secretary (1978–1996) and SPUC CEO (1996–2021), Phyllis Bowman, SPUC founder member (1967) and SPUC National Director (1978–1996).

THE SEVEN HOPES OF life by PRO F JÉRÔME LEJEUNE Professor Jérôme Lejeune was president of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children from 1987 until his death in 1994. He gave this address at the Family Congress in Brighton in 1990. In preparing it for publication, care has been taken to maintain the spoken character of the presentation in a desire to more faithfully convey the Professor’s message as well as the style of his delivery.

you reproduce a statue, what is reproduced is not the matter of the statue because the replica is made of something else than the original. - What is re produced is information imprinted in the matter by the genius of the sculptor. Then all genetics is about discovering what produces the animation of matter. Because matter can be animated. We are animatedmatter.Andif Icould,Iwouldsaythat chose the title of this talk, because I think whatwe matters is not matter. What matters is what havetofaceaverycuriousphenomenon.Today, makesinformationsothatmattercanbeanimated. human intelligence is, so to speak, submerged bybeverysimpleingenetics,Iwouldsaythatin Andto two contrary waves. One is a marvellous wave of lifethereisamessage.Andif thismessageishuman understanding.Everydayittellsusmoreaboutthe then this life is a human life. Matter, if animated marvel of nature and every day we discover more byahumannature,willbeabletobuildabodyin whichbewildersus.Theotherwaveisanominous whichaspiritwillmanifestitself insidetheflesh. one.It’sawaveof obscurantism,anditseemstosay Thatisgenetics.Thatisthedefinition-of ahu that the more we know about genetics, about the manbeing.Butnow,if spiritreallyanimatesmatter mechanismof life,thelessweknowabouthuman which is the core of our science of genetics we have nature,aboutwhatisahuman.AndImustsaythat towonderwhetherthegiftsof theSpiritcouldnot in both waves British people are playing a leading help us to understand this state of life when there role,inscience,asIwillexplainlater; - and unfortu are sevengiftsof theSpirit.AndIwouldliketowish natelyalso,notonlyaretheBritishscientists inof thethemtoyou,sothatmyfirstwishwouldbe each forefront of the good wave of understanding, but bewithyou. thatwisdom theBritishlawmakersareintheforefront - ofYou thehave di probablyheardinthiscountrythatlast sasterintheobscurantistwave.Andif Iweretotell yearwe[inFrance]hadaveryimportantcentennial you,whatisyourresponsibilitytowardsthefamily, ceremony about les droits de l'homme – the rights of towards the future of mankind, in front ofman. those Well, you have probably not been told that twowavesof understandingandobscurantism,my twenty-one years after they were proclaimed o{ wishwouldbeverysimpleindeed.Itwouldbe:cially, rule, aphilosopherproposedtotheFrenchsenate Britannia,overthosetwowaves. undertheNapoleonicEmpire,thatalawshouldbe Buttohelpyouruleoverthosewaves,Iwould enactedforbiddingdoctorstosuzocatebetweentwo liketoremindyouof somethingvery - simple. Liv people azected by rabies. Twenty-one mattresses ingmatterdoesnotexist.Mattercannotliveyears atall. aftertheproclamationof therightsof man, Matter cannot even be reproduced at all. When

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“Medicine can be summarised in one phrase: Hatred of the disease and love of the disabled. If we change those terms of reference, if we begin to fight on the same side as the disease, then truly speaking, eliminating the patient in order to eradicate the disease is exactly the abortion of medicine.”

stillinParis,rabiespatientsweresuzocatedbetween we begin to fight on the same side as the disease, mattresses. thentrulyspeaking,eliminatingthepatientinorder Now, twelve years after this law was proposed to eradicate the disease is exactly the abortion of – which was not discussed at all by the senate, itmedicine. was just dismissed by the Commission – a child Tounderstandthat,Iwouldtakeaverysimple wasborn.HisnamewasLouisPasteur.Andallhis example.Inahippodromewhenthereisacasualty, life was a demonstration that those who liberated youasktheveterinariantokillthehorse.Butyouask mankind from rabies and from the plagueasurgeon were torescuetherider.If thesurgeon delib not those who were suzocating rabies patients erately or killedthepatient,thenyouhaveexchanged who were burning plague stricken people medicine in their fortheveterinarian’sart. houses.Caringforeveryone,notaskingthem:What ThenIhopethatinthiscountryyouwillhave isyourname?Whatisyourreligion?buttrying the towisdom to continue to make a dizerence be help them to the best of our knowledge – that is tween the one who does biology applied to animals medicine. andtheonewhoappliesbiologytomankind. Medicine can be defined by very many - sys My second wish would be that understanding temsof diagnosis,of prognosis,of treatments will be butwith you. To respect every man, to try to it has one function which can be summarised in careforhimregardlessof hisqualities,weneedto one phrase: Hatred of the disease and love of the knowthateveryhumanbeingistoberespectedjust disabled.If wechangethosetermsof reference, because he ifbelongs to our species. That everyone isuniqueandirreplaceable. By the way, you know that in your language, as in my own language, we use the same term to define a new human being coming to life and an ideaarisinginyourmind.Weconceiveababy.We conceiveanidea.Conceptionisaprocessbothfo the mind and for the body of a new mind. And that is written in the language itself that it is a spirit whichanimatesouranimatedmatter. Butnow,thateveryhumanbeingisuniquehas beenknownforahundredyears,atleastfiftyyears, as has been statistically demonstrated in our species because the number of combinations of genes are so great that we were sure that everyone had a specificconstellationonlytobefoundinhim.However, thatwasacalculation.Nowwecanseeit. Louis Pasteur in his laboratory (1885), A. Edelfeldt.

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Twoyearsagoitcameintogeneraluse, - theofdis medicine had always sworn in all the languages covery made in this country by Jezreys. Around of theworld. fourorfiveyearsagohestartedit. Andthatwouldbemythirdwishthatyoukeep He manipulated DNA and he was able to exsome counsel. Remember, 230 years ago the tract a very peculiar probe of DNA which allows founder of medicine, Hippocrates, made all his ustorecognisespecificsegmentsof thisdisciples verylong swear: message.I’mnotgoingtotellyouexactlythetrick “Ishallnotgiveapoisonousdrugtoanyoneeven of thetrade,butwhenyouextracttheDNAfrom if requiredtodoso.AndIwillnotsuggestsucha acell,yousplititwithaspecificenzymeandthen youhaveitmigrateinanelectricalfieldandyouthing. use AndIwillnotgiveanyabortifacientdrug toapregnantwoman.” the probe made by Jezreys. The result looks very familiar.It’sabsolutelysimilartothebarcode thatsamephrasehesaidnotoeuthanasia,noto Inthe you find on any object in the supermarket – you abortion. And during 230 years, all the masters know,thesevariouslinesof dizerentwidth separat of medicinehavegiventhathope. edbydizerentspacesthataspecialopticalreader Curiously, having the demonstration now that will read and then feed the information into the he was right, telling us that every patient must be computer,whichwillimmediatelytellyouthe name respected because he is a human being, there are of the product, the quantity in the stock andvoices the today,pretending:“Butwehavemade - prog priceof theproduct. ress. We can detect, very early in utero, some very The Jezreys technique tells us just thedeleterious same conditions.Wecanevendetectminute thing. At one glance we will see that those bands di{culties,evendispositionswhichwilloccurver areonlyfoundinthisparticularhumanbeing. But inlife.” late let’ssupposethatyouhavestudiedthegenetic “bar We can, for example, detect the gene-of Hun code”of afatherandmotherandtheirchild. We tington’s diseasewhichwillbeaveryseverenervous willfindthateachsmalllinecharacteristicdisease of that after 40 years of practically normal life. babyiscominghalf fromthefather,half from theevendetectAlzheimer'sdisease,aterrible Wecan mother. But this combination is unique as it was dementia,insomeverypeculiarfamilialcases,that uniqueinthefather,asitwasuniqueinthatof the will make people demented when they reach 60, mother.Thenweknowthatatfirstglancewecanafter a normal life for 59 years. Now, is it wise or say: every human being is really unique. And we prudent,isitagoodcounseltoproposetokillthe can even have a computer able to read it exactly patient because these diseases have been detected likeinthesupermarket.Infact,ourJezreys’ bands early in their life during the time they were still areakindof identitycodewhichcannotbeinside falsifiedthewomb? atall,andthatyoucarrywithyouallyourlifeand Idon’tthinkit’sgoodcounsel.Idon’tthinkit’ demonstratethatyouarethisveryperson. good.Indeed,itisaheavypricethatevery - genera Whilethereissomethingthatthecomputer will tion hastopaytodiseases.Andit’saheavypricefor never read which is the price of that person because the patient in suzering, for the family in suzering humanlifeispriceless.Thatwasunderstoodin andthe for the society in helping both the patient and waythatyoucouldnotbuyahumanbeing.Now, thefamily.Butthiscostwecancalculateabsolutely unfortunately, some scientists make an enormous exactly.Thiscostistheexactpricethatacivilisation mistakeandtheysupposethathumanlifeispriceless hastopaytoremainhuman. becauseithasnoprice.ThathappensinacountryI am not going to talk about the Gnadentod of which had been civilised for generations but who theNazis, lebensunvertes leben–“livesnotworthyof have recently denied by a vote what all the masters being lived”. I would quote much more ancient history. You possibly remember that in Greece, S PR I NG 2 0 22

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Spartanswerekillingtheirbabiesif theywere can be not made that very young Britons are ozered lookingstrongenoughatbirthtobelaterfor soldiers vivisectionif theydon'tyethavedays 51 of life. or to be later women who could carry future solIf itwastruethatatfecundationahumanbeing diers.AndthoseSpartansweretheonlyGreeksthat isnotthere,therewouldneverbeahumanbeing gavehumanitynotoneartist,notonescientist, there. not one poet. They have not even left one ruin.And Andwhen reading the conclusion reached by they were considered the most stupid people of the vote that early Britons are not any longer a theworld. member of the human species, that they are - no Now, the question to the geneticist is - very where, im itcomestometorecalloneof yourgreatest portant: why did this happen in Greece where peoauthorswhichIwillmisquote,deliberately:if what ple were so clever that one nation was thatthey dull? said is true, there is something rotten in the Therearetwohypotheses.Oneisthatbykilling kingdom the of nowhere. babythattheythoughtwastoofrail,toofragile,in Myfifthwishwouldbethatknowledgebewith fact,theywerekillingtheirartistsandtheirscientists you. and progressively they became dull. That is one NearlyayearagoIwastestifying,thankstomy hypothesis.Idon'tknowif itistrue.Theother dear one friend Martin Palmer, in Tennessee because is:it’sbecausetheywerealreadythatdullthatthey seven embryos were in the fridge and the parents begantokilltheirownflesh. werepartingfromeachother.ItwasinMaryville. Somyfourthwishwouldbethatyouhavefor Thenameof theladywasMary.Andatthattime titude because you need fortitude to defend the she wanted to rescue her seven hopes who were honour of mankind. I received, in February, frozen. a copy of Hansard,whichis,if Iunderstandwell,the The judge had to decide whether they were compte-renduof theParliamentof thiscountry.And goods which can be liquidated or whether they were Iobservedwhenreadingitthatitwasthehonour humanbeingswhoshouldbeprotected. of thiscountry,thatthenobleDukeof Norfolkwas Andhedecidedthattherewerenotthingsand really the valiant warrior defending the children there is not a third category between things and to come in this country. And even the promoter human beings since slavery has been abolished. of experimentation on tiny Britons, Lord And Walton thenhedecidedthatcustodyshouldbegiven of Detchant, was obliged to recognise thatto inthe the parent who wants the life of the children last three years, no achievement in medicine and not hadto the one who wants them to be frozen beenmadebymakinguseof earlyhumanbeings; forever.Itwasajudgementof Solomon.Iwasvery that every achievement which had been made in closetothejudgeattheendof thedeposition,and all the diseases which had been quoted three years he realised that 30 years later he was to judge beforeandcouldbestudied,thankstofreedom againto asSolomondid.Andagainjusticewasonthe experimentonhumanembryos–thosesixdiseases samesideasSolomon.Becauseyouknow,timeand whichwereDownsyndrome,hemophilia,muscular temperaturearethedefinitionof thefluxof reality. dystrophy,mucoviscidosis–andIforgettheothers If we–diminishthetemperature,weslowdownthe were showing extraordinary achievement in science movements of the molecule which is a measure of withoutonebabybeingputatriskbyscientists.thetimeelapsingandwefreezethetimewedon’t Nevertheless,bothChambersvotedinthis - coun freezereallytheembryo,it’stimewhichisstopped trythatahumanbeingwhichisnotyetdays 41 old Thenif temperaturecomesback,life - willman is not a British citizen. It’s not even a member ifest of itself again. So I said to the judge: “Those ourKingdom.It’s,forme,unbelievablethatin frozen the embryosforwhichthetimeisarrestedare, countryof Jezreys,inthecountryof – Iwill Surani sotospeak,inaconcentrationcan.”InFrancethey speaklaterabouthim–suchanenormousmistake translated“concentrationcamp”.Amistake, - adou

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the se ven hopes of life

“Indeed, it is a heavy price that every generation has to pay to diseases. And it’s a heavy price for the patient in suffering, for the family in suffering and for the society in helping both the patient and the family. But this cost we can calculate absolutely exactly. This cost is the exact price that a civilisation has to pay to remain human.” ble mistake, because the concentration campTo is afinish, we come to the sixth wish and the machine to increase death terribly, to accelerate seventh will be very short. The sixth is that piety death. On the contrary, the concentration can bewith is you.Pietyisareverenceforthosewhohave a machine to slow down life terribly. But in begotten both you.Anditisverycuriousthatfilialpiety casestheinnocentareinaconcentrationary is of an state. extreme modernity due to a discovery in Inabottleof liquidnitrogenyoucanputtiny 03 thiscountrytwoyearsagobySurani.Hediscovered humanbeings.If thatisnotconcentration,theword that dad and mom do not transmit exactly the same “concentration”hasnomeaning. messagetothebaby.Becauseman,sotospeak,is Thenwhatwehavetodo,isnottoasktheques underlyingsomesequenceof DNAonsomegiven tion,whetherweareallowedtoplaywiththose point. peo The mother does the same but not at the pleconcentratedintheconcentrationsame can.That’s point. That was the fantastic discovery of not the question. The real question must beSurani. that Nobodybelievedthatbefore.Nobodyhad concentration should be forever streng verboten – abpredictedit.Andthisunderlyingismadeby - methyl solutelyforbidden. ationof agivenbaseof DNA.Thatisatechnicality.

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Buttounderstandwhatitmeansisveryclear.Thatsecond is that you have to honour thy father and is,if aneggwasproducedwiththenormalcontent thy mother in order that thy life will be long on of chromosomes but all of them were coming from this earth. Because if you do not have the genetic themotherwithnoDNAmarkedinthemaleway, makeup from your father and from your mother, this egg is not a human being. It will not develop youwillnotbeconceivedatall. itself intoababy. Whilethelastgiftof theSpiritisthefear,thatfear Itwilljustmakevarioustissues,variousspeciali - is not the one that you have when you come into the sationsof cells.Itwillmakespareparts,skin,inferno teeth, of Dante.Youknow,it’swrittenonthedoor: nails,hairs,butnotbuildaperson.Onthereverse, thosewhocomehere,giveupanyhope.That’snot if thereisonlymarkingof theDNAinthemalewise thekindof fearthatIwishyouwouldhave.Butit’s way, it’s not a human being either. It will produce afearof abandoningthereverencefortheCreato cysts which look very much like the amniotic lestbag youlosetherespectforHiscreatures. butitwouldmakealotof them.Wecallthem-hy Technologyisnotbad.Complexityof inference datidiform moles and it can give cancer; we call it inside the human genome is not bad as long as it is chorioepithelioma.Soweknowbythedemonstra - done in the interests of that very person in which tionof thisspecialmarkingof theDNAbyeach itsex ismade. that we need to have one father and one mother to However,everydaywearegettingmorepowerful buildahumanbeing. but not wiser. Then we get more dangerous. One Thatisakindof scoopinourday.Becauseyou of thedangers,forexample,istheabortionpill,the read in the newspaper and even it was said on this RU486.Itisthefirstanti-humanpesticide.Ituses stage that you could manipulate eggs in order to two dizerent drugs. It's binary ammunition. One make, let’s say, to beget between women. That which is paralyses the system which allows the baby to take the nucleus of a girl-friend and include to be nourished it by the mother, anti-progesterone, inside the egg of a woman so that the woman will and the other which expels the baby, for example, becomepregnantfromherlesbiangirl-friend. prostaglandin. That Thisbinaryammunitionshouldbe hypothesisisnotanylongerin.Itisentirely forbidden out. intheworld.MrBushandMrGorbachev Weknowfromthediscoveryof Surani - that have na agreed to destroy the stockpile of chemica turewillnotallowthat.Itwilljustmakeateratoma, warfarethattheyhaveintheircountries.Itellyou, akindof cancer,nothingelse.Thesameisthis truedeadly of pill, RU 486, if industrially produced, the “gay nightmare” of producing a childwill by two killmorehumanbeingseveryyearthanHitler, dizerent males. That is, taking out the legitimate MaoZedongandStalincombined. nucleusof aneggandputtinginsidetwodizerent ThenthefearI'mwishingforyouwasexpressed spermsfromtwodizerentmenandimprinting in an old itsaying in in Latin: timete Dominium et nihil aliud. someuterustoberented.Itwillnotdo.ThisThat isan means: have fear of the Lord and of nothing entirely has-been idea. It will not be possible. else. That It’sis the true liberty of the spirit. Because forbiddenbynature.Inthesameway,aclonetaken you will see in the years to come that science with from a cell of a grown up will not be made even if conscience will be necessary to avoid the ruin of you take out the nucleus and you put it in an egg; mankind. it will not become a human being because it does not have the special imprinting which is only made duringthematurationof thesexualcells. So we learn two things: that honour thy father and thy mother is really a commandment of God because nature obeys it. You cannot have two - fa thers.Youcannothavetwomothersonly.Andthe

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JÉRÔME LEJEUNE a giant amongst scientists

Image source: Fondation Jérôme Lejeune

érôme Lejeune was born on 13 June 1926 in Inpayingtributetohiswork,DrCharles-JEp MontrougenearParis.Hestudiedatthe- Uni stein,Profes sorof PaediatricsattheUniversityof versityof ParisandreceivedadoctorateinCalifornia, medicine said:“Lejeunebasicallyopenedupthe in195and 1 insciencein196At 0. 31-years-of-age wholescientificfieldof whatyoumightcallclinical hewonworldacclaimwhenheidentifiedthe cytogenetics cause –thefieldthatdealswithgenetic disor of Downsyndrome,thefirstchromosomaldisease dersresultingfromdizerenttypesof chromosom discovered in man (1958 and 1959). During his abnormalities.” career he went on to discover the origin of many Fromthetimeof hisdiscov ery,JérômeLejeune other chromosomal diseases (such as the Cri remained du a passionate advocate of humane care for Chatsyndrome). people with Down syndrome, the most common AtthetimethatLejeuneshowedthatthecellscause of of lowered intelligence (about one in every peoplewithDownsyndromecontain47chromo 800-1babiesisbornwiththedisability). somes,onemorethantheusualhumancomplementAswellashisworkatParisDescartesUniversity, of 46, he was working at the Centre National de heranadepartmentattheInstituteof Geneticsand la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a government theHospitalforSickChildreninPariswherehedid funded body which had several thousand research muchof hispioneeringworkinclinicalcytogene ersworkinginmanydizerentdisciplines. S PR I NG 2 0 22

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“If you really want to attack the Son of Man, one needs to attack the sons of men. Christianity is the only religion that says ‘your model is a child’; when you have been taught to despise the child, there will be no more Christianity.” PROF JÉRÔME LEJEUNE

and carried out numerous clinical and biochemical studiesof peoplewithDownsyndrome. ItisbelievedthatDown’schildrenstartozwith anormalIQ which , graduallyfallsuntilaboutthe ageof seven.Prof Lejeunebelievedthattreatment couldbedevelopedtostopthisdeterioration,which hethoughtwasduetothefactthatcertainenzymes controlledbytheextrachromosomehave 12 amore harmful ezect on the brain function than others. His team in Paris discovered that the extra - chro mosomecarriesnormalgeneticmaterial;however, in his words, “it seems that putting in too much informationisjustasbadasomittingit”.Theexcess may not be dangerous in itself, but could starve other biochemical processes. In particular, Prof Lejeune believed that monocarbons (the “bricks” an acceptance by many people that these children needed to build the brain) could be blocked and should be discarded. This has caused researchers he was looking for a way of chemically - neutralis to believe that if you discard these children there is ing the excessive biochemical processes to stop this happening.Hewasconfidentthathisresearchno was problem.Butthisisthebiggestmistakepossible. Theazectedchildrenarealreadyhere.” going to develop a treatment that would improve Withhismilitantdefenceof therighttolifeof theIQof Down’schildren. his patientshisresearchgrantswerefinallystopped. He did not achieve his goal but remained conUndeterred, he continued in the field and in his vincedthatafullcurewouldonedaybepossible. final years was dependent on pro-life groups pro Nonethelesshemadegreatstridesinthetreatment viding muchof thefunding. of childrenwithDownsyndrome,improving their Throughout his life Prof Lejeune won many IQandgeneralhealth. awards andhonours.InFrancehewasamemberof Lejeune’sresearchwasoriginallyfinanced bythe themoralandsociologicalsectionof theAcademi French Government. At the outset he was one of SciencesMoralesetPolitiques,aswellasof the sevenscientistsworkinginEuropeonthedes problem. Academie deMedicine.Hewasalsoamemberof However, the number gradually declined until he theAmerican Academyof ArtsandSciences.He remained alone. Lejeune attributed the fact that workedwiththeUnitedNationsScientificCommit scientists were giving up research into intellectual tee on congenital abnormalities and was a member retardationtothespreadof theabortionmentality. of variousAcademiesof ScienceincludingBoston “This is purely psychological and is not that they London, lack the power to investigate,” he said. “There is Rome, Stockholm. His awards included 34

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pr of jér ôme lejeune - a giant a mongst scientists

theWilliamAllanMemorialAward961( 9)the , Prix beforehisdeath.Althoughafoundingpillarof the Essec de Cancer, the Grand Prix ScientifiqueAcademy, de hedidnothavetimetobeactivein - itsop laVilledeParis,andtheKennedyAward(1962). eration.Infact,theAcademyquicklyturnedoutto Throughout his career, suzering many attacks bequitedizerentfromthevisionof JérômeLejeune from members of his profession who sought to whowantedtomakeitaveryconcreteshowcaseof diminish his stature because of their support for whatthemoste{cientscienceandmedicinewere abortion and the use of the human embryos for capable of achieving without having to transgress experiments, he was courageously supported respect by duetoeveryhumanbeing,asthemodern Birtha his wife of 42 years, and his two sons andworldrecommends. three daughters. Furthermore, his Christian faith JérômeLejeunehadtochoosebetween - hisca was the bedrock of both his personal and public reerandthedefenceof goodnessandtruth.Again lifeandheneverswervedfromCatholicasteaching. John Paul II wrote: “Professor Jérôme Lejeune Lejeune liked to meditate on the Prologue fully assumed ofthe special responsibility of the scholSaint John which inspired his life as a doctor, ar, ready sci to become a ‘sign of contradiction’, re entist, and Christian. Aware that the mystery ofgardless of the pressures exerted by a permissive sotheIncarnationisthecuttingedgeof theChristian cietyortheostracism[of which]hewastheobject”. religion,itbecamecleartoLejeunethatone Thecannot coherenceof JérômeLejeune'slifehasresulted believeinGodwithoutlovingChristIncarnate inalegacy and of considerableinfluenceamongyoung with Him all our fellow human beings. He hadpeople a today who never knew him but who want veryacuteawarenessof whatisatstakeinthefighttocommitthemselvestohiscontinuedfightforlife thatiswagedaroundhumanlife.Heknewthatits Jérôme Lejeune died on 3 April 1994, before rootsarespiritual.InMarch971 during ,3 asympo having seen the political victory of the servants of siumorganisedbytheCercleFrançaisdelaPresse, life,beforehavingfoundthetreatmentthatwould andbypro-abortionfeminists,Lejeunewitnessed cure his a patients. But he died on Easter Sunday terrible declaration by an influential woman morning, who thedayof thevictoryof Life. said:“WewanttodestroytheJudeo-Christian - civil isation.Forthatwemustfirstdestroythefamily.ToSOURCES: Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, Human Concern, issues 1984-1994. destroyitwemustattackitinitsweakestpointandAude Dugast, “Il professor Lejeune ‘venerabile’ per la Chiesa”, Radici Cristiane, no.163, May 2021. this weak point is the child who hasn't been born “Ho vissuto con un santo” – Intervista a Jean-Marie Le Méné, Radici Cristiane, no.163, yet.Soweareforabortion.”Thisconfirmedwhat May 2021. hethought:“If youreallywanttoattacktheSonof Man,oneneedstoattackthesonsof men.-Chris tianityistheonlyreligionthatsays‘yourmodelis achild’;whenyouhavebeentaughttodespisethe child,therewillbenomoreChristianity.” This is how Prof Jérôme Lejeune became the tirelessapostleof theGospelof Life,travellingthe world todeclare, withoutfearof sanctions for his career,thebeautyanddignityof allhumanlife.His methodwasbiblicalsimplicity;tospeakthetruth, always and everywhere and thus, rebuild intelli gences,purifymindsfromrelativism,strengthenthe lukewarmandencourageeveryonetoembracelife. JohnPaulIInamedLejeunethefirstpresident of thenewPontificalAcademyforLifeafewdays 1. 2.

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Fruitful research without human embryo exploitation In 1988 Dr Jérôme Lejeune was invited to address the UK Parliamentary Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee to the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group in response to the Government’s consultation paper on legislation on IVF and embryo research. Proposals regarding human embryo experimentation up to the fourteenth day of life were recommended by the Warnock Report (1984), and in his address, Dr Lejeune endeavored to demonstrate that effective research into genetic diseases would not depend on techniques requiring the use of human embryos. In the introduction to Dr Lejeune’s paper, the Rt Hon Sir Bernard Braine, Chairman of the group said: “The scope and application of medical and scientific research has grown dramatically during the past forty years. Much of this development has been beneficial for the individual and for society as a whole but there are certain areas in which it has resulted in unacceptable and uncivilised practices. The implementation of the 1967 Abortion Act frequently involves the absolute rejection of any concern and respect for pre-natal human life. “Our existing law has been used to justify experiments on aborted mid-gestational infants sustained by their own heart action for up to 2 hours after removal from the womb. A Report, The Use of Fetuses and Fetal Material for Research, published by the Department of Health and Social Security in 1972 stated plainly that, ‘In considering whether it is ethically justifiable to undertake such research we noted that society through Parliament, in permitting abortion in certain circumstances has accepted that where an abortion under the Act is carried out the pre-viable fetus is prevented from attaining life’. “The Report also went on to claim that, ‘The whole pre-viable fetus has offered an important opportunity that cannot be obtained in any other way for making observations of great value …’ “Small wonder then, that once scientists had conquered the technique of generating human embryos outside the womb (in vitro fertilisation) we have been bombarded with propaganda urging the use of the embryonic human being for experimentation. This propaganda is often couched in scientific terms, promising great rewards if such experimentation were permitted. Although the All-Party Pro-Life Group in Parliament rejects human embryo vivisection we felt that expert advice was needed concerning such claims. We, therefore, established our own Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee which included some of the most eminent men and women in the world in their respective disciplines. Their mandate is to advise us on the validity of claims made; on the gaining of information regarding the causes of genetic and chromosomal diseases and their possible cure without the use of human embryos, and on alternative methods of overcoming infertility.

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“These papers represent the Committee’s initial work and were submitted to the Department of Health and Social Security in response to its Consultation Paper entitled Legislation On Human Infertility Services and Embryo Research. They provide an authoritative background which should be read and considered not only by all involved in this field but in particular by those of us who will have responsibility for the legislation.” Despite credible scientific evidence, the UK government chose to listen only to the experts whose opinions aligned with its policy. In 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was passed in the interests of the British research sector and the fertility industry. At the same time, the Abortion Act was amended to allow for “selective reduction” in multiple pregnancies and to remove the upper limit for children with disabilities. The licensing of IVF procedures turned unborn children into a commodity that has been traded, exploited and discarded on an unprecedented scale ever since. In the 34 years since the following testimony by Dr Lejeune was presented to Parliament, the prospect of medical breakthroughs that would result from destructive embryo research has proven to be an empty promise. Instead, it promoted a false understanding of human nature and has ushered in a new age of eugenics.

by PRO F JÉRÔME LEJEUNE

or more than two millennia, medicine complete hasgenetic information is written in miniafought against death and disease. It is onlyturised in language. recent years that some have questioned whether our The spermhead carries one metre length of engagementforlifeandcarewastrulyirreversible. DNA, cut into 23 pieces, the chromosomes, each of which is precisely coiled and visible under the THEFUNDAMENTALSOFLIFE microscope. Life has a very, very long history, but for each of Assoonasonespermpenetratesthe“zona pel us it has a very definite beginning: the moment lucida”inwhichtheovumiswrapped,itbecomes of conception.Progenyandparentsareunited impenetrable by toothersperm.Inpurelyoperational the threadlike molecule of DNA upon which terms, theassoonasthesperm’spaternal 23 chromo somesentertheovum,withitsmaternal 32 chromo somes,thetotalinformationnecessaryandsu{cient todictatethegeneticmake-upof thenewhuman being is established: not a theoretical or a potential human being, but the very human being we will latercallPeter,orPaul,orMagdalene. Soulandbodyorspiritandmatterareintricately interwovenatthebeginningof life.Indeedweuse thesameword,conception,todescribetheprocess bywhichanidea,aconcept,comestoourmindas wedotodefinethegeneticprocessbywhichanew being,conceptus, a comestolife.

TECHNICALITIESOFEARLYLIFE Once a month, a ripe ovum is expelled from the ovary and enters the uterine tube where it may

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f r u i t f u l r e s e a r c h w i t h o u t h u m a n e m b r y o e x p l o i t at i o n

“Soul and body or spirit and matter are intricately interwoven at the beginning of life. Indeed we use the same word, conception, to describe the process by which an idea, a concept, comes to our mind as we do to define the genetic process by which a new being, a conceptus, comes to life.”

encounterthesperm which, among thousands (the of zona pellucida), is transferred to its mother’s others,willfertiliseit. womb. Itisbecausenaturalfecundationoccursbetween WhenDrsEdwardsandSteptoetooktheriskof afree-floatingeggandafree-floatingspermreplacing thatin the tiny Louise Brown into the womb of vitro fertilisation is possible in a glass tube which hermother,itwasbecauseeverythinginthesciences replaces the uterine tube. At the cellular level of genetics the and embryology assured them that this processisidentical. littleberry-lookingbeingwasneitheratumournor Because sexually transmitted diseases and other aparasite,butayoungmemberof ourspecies,the pathological conditions may occlude the uterine childof MrandMrsBrown. tube,itwasproposedtobypasstheobstructedtube. Withmanychildrenalreadybornfromthis - tech If theripeovumiscarefullyaspiredthrough nique, afineit is an established experimental fact that plastic tube into a test tube to which sperm is subthelifeof eachhumanbeingbeginsatconception sequently added, fecundation can occur. Two Protected or initslifecapsule(thezonapellucidaand threedayslaterthetinyembryo,alreadyfeverishly thentheamnioticsac)theearlyhumanbeingisjust organising itself inside the walls of its private home as viable and autonomous as a cosmonaut on the S PR I NG 2 0 22

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“The student who cannot identify microscopically the chromosomes of a chimpanzee, gorilla and a man would fail his exam! Human nature is absolutely unmistakable when it comes to reproduction.” moon:refuellingwithvitalfluidsasrequired canbe from kept,sotospeak,insuspendedanimation. themothervessel.Atthisstageshelterandnurture Hence we have sperm banks, familiar in animal bythemotherorganismareabsolutelyessential. husbandry,andsomeresearchersevenwanttoset upbanksof humanembryos.Deep-frozenhuman SUSPENDEDANIMATION beings may thus be thawed and transferred into InLatinlanguagesweusethesamewordforthat their mother's wombs or into rented wombs of carwhichwemeasurewithaclockandthatwhichwerier mothers. Such embryo banks of warranted check with a thermometer (le temps). This - isquality ap may be established with carefully controlled propriate because temperature is a measure of the andclassifiedpedigrees.Althoughthemajorityof agitationof molecules,andthisrandommovement scientists today deny any such intentions this possidefinesthepassingof time. bility must be considered when society assesses the Refrigerationreducesthemolecularfuture motion ofso suchtechniques. thatclosetoabsolutezero“timecomes-toastand Atthepresenttimesurrogatemothersarevery still” as all movement stops. Because of-their much ex“à la mode” – and the biological mother traordinary vitality, human sperm and even early may sell her child to the male buyer, usually with humanembryoscanwithstanddeepfreezing the and provisothatitmustbenormal.

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f r u i t f u l r e s e a r c h w i t h o u t h u m a n e m b r y o e x p l o i t at i o n

RESPECTFORHUMANNATURE Thusif weweretotaketheWarnockreference The expression “human nature” is not muchto in earlyhumannatureseriously,wemustrecognise voguethesedaysamongsomescientists.Neverthe that the embryo is not a perishable commodity to be less,humannaturedoesexist:oneonlyhastolook frozenanddefrostedondemandnoraconsumable athumanchromosomestorecognisetheirnumber, producttobepurchasedortransferredatwill,nor theirsizeandeventheirspecificbandingexperimental patterns. material, nor an item to be stocked The student who cannot identify microscopically forspareparts.Fromconception,theembryoisan the chromosomes of a chimpanzee, gorilla individual and a human being who should be protected man would fail his exam! Human nature is absoagainstexploitation. lutelyunmistakablewhenitcomestoreproduction. The most advanced chimpanzee does not relate FUTUREOFMEDICINE the act of copulation to the outcome of a baby Isrespectforhumannatureanimpediment tore chimpanzeesomeninemonthslater! search?No. Man is the only creature who knows that loveTo appreciate the truth of that answer let us exandprocreationareunitedbynature.Even - the amine pa the recent progress made in the investigation gans represented the god of love as a child. andThis treatment of congenital and genetic disease discoverycomesfromthedawnof humanmemory, Human embryo experimentation up to the fourthelostparadise. teenthdayof lifeasrecommendedbytheWarnock The Warnock Committee recognised - the Report spe isnotanecessaryrequirementforezective cial nature of the human embryo when in their medicalinterventionintheseconditions. report they declared: “The status of the embryo is a matter of fundamental principle which should CONGENITALANDGENETICDISEASE beenshrinedinlegislation.”(page63:para1.7) Two years ago I was invited to address members They also recognised that the process of huof both Houses of Parliament at Westminster. I man development begins at conception when they explained that human embryo research as recomstated:“While,aswehaveseen,thetimingof mended the by the Warnock Committee could not dizerentstagesof developmentiscritical, produce once anythe positive results in the investigation process has begun, there is no particular part andof treatment of congenital and genetic diseases the development process that is more important because at fourteen days the organs and systems thananother;allarepartof acontinuousprocess, azectedbytheseconditionshavenotyetdeveloped. andunlesseachstagetakesplacenormally,atthe InadditionIsuggestedthatezectiveresearchwould correct time, and in the correct sequence, depend further on techniques not requiring the use of hudevelopmentwillcease.Thusbiologically manthere embryos. isThesecommentswereattackedfrom noonesingleidentifiablestageinthedevelopment all sides and Nature magazine reported my- com 1 of the embryo beyond which the in vitro embryo mentsasa“FrenchinfluenceinBritain”. shouldnotbekeptalive.” Subsequently,Nature made an “appeal to em 2 Thus,whenreferringtothisstatement,the - Aus bryologists” in which a prize of one year’s free tralian Senate Select Committee on the Human subscriptiontothemagazinewouldbeawardedto Embryo Experimentation Bill 1985, concluded: the authors of the best submission showing what “In this situation prudence dictates that, until could thebe achieved by the use of the embryonic hucontraryisdemonstrated‘beyondreasonable man doubt’ being. In this way, the magazine suggested, to ( useanexpressionwellknowninourcommunity) scientists , wouldbeabletodefeatattempts - inPar the embryo of the human species should be regardliament to outlaw the use of the human embryo ed as if it were a human subject for the purpose of forexperiments. biomedical ethics (Human Embryo Experimentation in Today – two years later –Nature has still not Australia.’page28;para3.18). publishedanyrelevantpapers.Suchsilence - demon S PR I NG 2 0 22

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stratesthepaucityof scientificargumentjustifying determinedduringthenextfewyears.Lastyearwe humanembryoexperimentation. demonstrated that in Down syndrome the cells are Furthermoremypredictionconcerning extra ezective sensitive to a drug which blocks the - metab 8 research without the use of human embryos has olism of monocarbons. These monocarbons are been amply demonstrated by numerous investigathesmallest“buildingblocks”usedinthenervous torsinseveralcountries.Vitaminsupplementation system and perhaps their use can be modified by before conception has been shown to protect the drugsinchildrensuzeringfromDownsyndrome. embryo from neural tube defects in spina bifida. Iamnotsuggestingthattheconditionof these The new developments in molecular biology apchildrenwillsoonbecured.WhatIdosay,however, pliedtocellstakenfromadultpatientswith is that cystic discoveries are being made and that respect 3 muscular 5 fibrosis , dystrophy4 Huntington’s , disease for human nature does not impair research but and retinoblastoma6 have also generated a much stimulates it. The proponents of the use of the greater understanding of the genetic factors rehumanembryoasaguineapigweremistakenwhen sponsible for these diseases as well as their location they put forward to the public this cruel suggestion: withinthehumangenome.Inadditionthereis either nowyou accept our philosophy that embryos may the possibility of treating and curing certain genetic be used or else you condemn families azected by 7 blooddiseaseswithbonemarrowtransplantation. genetic diseases and you wash your hands of their None of these achievements has involved sorrows. the use of humanembryos. Medicineisnotforcedtochoose- betweenplay In Down syndrome – the disease in which ing I Herod and Pontius Pilate. There are possible amparticularlyconcerned–thereisanadditional lines of research in full accordance with medical chromosome present in every cell ofnorms the aïicted and already they are being demonstrated individual. This produces an “overdose” asfruitful. of ge netic information and is roughly comparable to a four-cylinderenginemountedbymistakeREFERENCES withfive Walgate R. French influence in Britain. Nature 313, 21 Feb 1985. sparkingplugs.Theenginecannotrunsmoothly but Nature, An appeal to embryologists. Nature 316, 11. Editorial. Beaudet et al. Linkage of cystic fibrosis to two tightly linked DNA markers: joint the good motor-mechanic will try to disconnect the report of a collaborative study. J. Hum.Genet 39. pp.681-693, 1986. extraplugratherthandiscardtheengine.Although Monaco, A.P., Neve, R.L., Colletti-Feener, c., Bertelson, CJ., Kurnit, D.N., Kunkel, L.M. Isolation of Candidate cDNAs for portions of the duschenne muscular wescientistsdonotyetknowhowto“unplug”an dystrophy gene. Lancer. 323, pp. 646-650. 1986. Landegent, I.E., Jansen in de Wal, N., Fisser-Gren, Y.M., Bakker, E. Van Der Ploeg, extra chromosome, nature does and does it most M., Pearson, P.L. Fine Mapping of the Huntington Disease linked D4S10 locus e{ciently.Inthefemaleeachcellpossesses by non-radioactive twoX iii. situ hybridization. Hum. Genes. 73, pp. 354-357. 1986. Friend, S.J., Bernards, R., Rogel. J.S., Weinberg. R.A., Rapaport. J.N., Alheri, D.M., chromosomes whereas in the male each cell posDryja, T.P., A Human DNA segment with properties of the gene that predisposes to retinoblastoma sessesonlyoneXchromosome.Shortly - after con and osteosarcoma. Nature. 323. pp. 643-646 1986. Hobbs, J.R. Displacement bone-marrow transplantation and immunoprophylaxis to ception one or other of the two X chromosomes treat some genetic diseases. Bone marrow transplantation, 1, pp. 333-335. 1986. Lejeune, J., Rethore, M.O., de Blois, M.C., Maunoury-Burolla, C., Mir, M., Nicolle, in each cell of the female embryo is inactivated or L., Borowy, F., Borghi, E., Recan, D. Metabolisme des monocarbories et trisomie 21, sensibilite “unplugged” so as to prevent an overdose of the aux methotrexate. Ann. Genet. 29. pp. 16-19, 1986. genetic information on the X chromosome. This situation continues throughout life. Through our research we hope to achieve a similar ezect with theextrachromosome21whichisresponsiblefor Downsyndrome. Ourworkalsoinvolvesdecipheringthegenetic content of chromosome 21. Five genes - have al ready been identified on chromosome 21 and it is likely that its full complement of genes will be 1. 2. 3.

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interview

SPECIAL GIFTS OFlife An interview with Dame Colleen Bayer

Dame Colleen Bayer, the Founder and Director of Family Life International in New Zealand, has been one of the forces of nature behind Voice of the Family from its beginning. In this interview, we are pleased to share her tremendous apostolate in New Zealand and her tireless witness for the special gift of life with disabilities. FLI has centres in the main cities of Auckland and Wellington; it provides practical help throughout the country to women and girls facing unplanned pregnancy. Through the media, conferences and its publications, FLI educates the general public on all life issues, from conception to natural death.

CALX MARIAE: For readers who aren’t familiar with Family Life International (FLI) can you tell us a little about the organisation, when it was started, what it does and what its goals are?

COLLEEN BAYER: Early in 1992, I received a

brochure via direct mail about an international pro-lifeconferencetobeheldinOttawa,Canada. I was taken aback as this looked like a Catholic conference with an image of the Blessed Mother andarosaryonthecover.ThisenthralledmeasI wasusedtoSPUCdownhereinNZ,whichwasa secular organisation. It did not capture my heart In an audience with His Eminence Cardinal Burke in Rome, Colleen orsoulsoIwasonlyinterestedingettinginvolved Bayer and her son Benjamin, 2019. with them in a fundraising capacity. However, I soonfoundmyself onaplanetoOttawawithour theCrosseveryday.Thatsentencewastochange one-year-oldsonwithDownsyndrome. mylifeforever. We travelled across the globe to attend a life The second reason I started the organisation changing event. Rev Father Paul Marx OSB, here was that, following the opening Mass of the founder of Human Life International, hosted the conference, therewasaprayerfulprocession toOt conference, which attracted thousands oftawa' faithful s Parliament Hill. Upon exiting St Patrick's Catholicsandpeopleof goodwillfromCathedral, alloverthe thecongregationwasmetwiththemost world.Amongotherthings,aBenedictinepriest, Fr demonicshowof evil,byperhaps fouland - athou MatthewHabiger,toldtheaudiencethatmarried sandormorehomosexual,lesbianandothersuch couples should cling to the tabernacle and embrace activists shouting and screaming, burning e{gies

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“Our Blessed Lord has entrusted to me, and to all my children, our very own Joseph. Protector, helper, and provider, Saint Joseph was the foster father of Jesus, a true example of fatherhood, and self-giving. Terry, my husband, is a ‘St Joseph’ in every sense. A carpenter himself, he has always been very gracious and friendly to everyone he met. Our home has always been open to children who needed care, and open to every pregnant mother in need who came our way. ” ference. The Gospel of Life is surrounded by the lightandhopeof Christ,evenamidstthesadand hopelesscultureof deathanddespair. Even though I was already immersed in the pro-life movement, this was the moment of total surrendertoChristbypledgingtherestof mylife topromote,serveanddefendtheGospelof Life.

CM: New Zealand’s abortion law became

Terry and Colleen Bayer with their three adopted children: Kathleen, Benjamin and Elizabeth, 2022.

much more extreme in 2020. Under the new law, abortions before 20 weeks of pregnancy are unrestricted but after this point, the law seems quite vague. What is the situation? Do unborn children have any legal protection before birth? In particular, what does the abortion law say about children with disabilities?

CB: Infactabortionisopentoallwomen.Thereis

no longer any legal protection for the unborn child of FrPaulMarx,anddisplayingeverykind-of de –rightuptothedayof birth.Latetermabortions monicthing.ThecandlelitprocessiontoParliament only require that the attending health care pracprogressed regardless; the most beautiful statue of titioner “reasonably believes that the abortion is OurLadyof Fatimasurroundedwithmagnificent clinicallyappropriate”inthecircumstances,taking flowers,ledby bishops,priests,religiousandlaity, into consideration the woman's physical and menallprayerfullyrecitingtheRosary.Theprocession tal health and overall wellbeing. A second health wasprotectedbymountedpoliceholdingbackthe carepractitionermustagreethatitisappropriate, throngsof theagentsof darknessanddespair,intent however, that person is not required to meet the ondefilingthatwhichisholyandundefiled.Such womanrequestinganabortion.Apregnantmother events were to carry on throughout the entire con44

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can refer herself for an abortion without firsther moment GP, of conception,societyhasgivenway nor is it mandatory that she receive counselling to put materialistic wants above the natural order beforeittakesplace.Thereiscertainlyan of agenda GodWhogiveslife.Inthequestforfreedom,we to detect foetal anomalies in the womb in order to have in fact become a nation enslaved; a godless napreventthesechildrenfrombeingborn. tionof thestrongholdingdominionovertheweak Iamappalledthatprebornchildrenhavebeen stripped of their humanity in the eyes ofCM: the law. Adoption is a tremendous witness of They are viewed as something to be disposed of, love but not someone worthy to be protected, loved andit’s not without its challenges. This givenachanceof life. is especially true when an adopted child has Asanation,wewillbeheldtoaccountforathe disability. Several children with disabilities lives lost to abortion. Hundreds of thousands of have found a home in your family. How did babies’liveshavebeensnuzedoutandthewounds formothers,fathersandfamiliesaretremendous. that come about, what are their stories?

CM: In pre-Christian societies children born with disabilities were routinely killed. Today we have laws protecting the disabled from discrimination, yet no group faces more prejudice than unborn children with disabilities. Many governments offer financial support to disabled people and their families, but also devote considerable resources to detecting and eliminating unborn children with disabilities. How can we explain these two irreconcilable attitudes towards disability?

CB:Myhusband,Terry,andIhavebeenblessed

withfivechildren,fourof whomareadoptedand havespecialneeds. Michellenow ( years 74 old)our , eldestdaughter and our only birth child, has also gifted us with seven amazing grandchildren, all homeschooled Michelle, my successor in FLI, is also followed by herfirstdaughterAmieour ( firstgrandchild)inprolifeleadership,thustherearenowthreegeneration of Catholicpro-lifeleadersinthefamily.

CB: This is very complex. As Christians who are

devoted to saving and protecting all human lives, regardlessof theirpersonalstate,wefindourselves living in an era that has replaced God with personal godsof prestige,wealthandself-fulfilment.Many people fear the thought of the so-called burden of bringing up a child who is “dizerent and needy”, not fitting into the social order they have become accustomed to. Often, women can also feel pres suredintothinkingthattheirchildwillbeaburden on the family, and develop a sense of shame that theirbabywillnotbe“perfect”. Eventhoughweknowclearlythescientificfacts Michelle, her mother’s successor at FLI, pictured with a baby at Saint of the development of a baby in utero from the very Gianna’s Home for Mothers and Babies.

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Our eldest son, Andrew (4) was adopted as a wee baby from the Home of Compassion. His mother was very young and had come from a family plagued with psychiatric problems and epilepsy. I have kept contact with Andy’s mum and we have becomegoodfriendsovertheyears. Kathleen (37) was also born to a very young mother, just thirteen years old, a victim of rape and incest. Kathleen was also exposed to solvent abuseinutero,thuscompromisingherintellectual abilityandherstability.Kathleenisarealjoyandso helpfultoherdad,especiallywhenheisveryunwell. Benjamin Joseph (30) was born with Down syndrome. When he was born, his poor parents were afraid that a second child would not fit into Elizabeth and Benjamin theirlivesandthuswalkedawayfromthehospital withouttheirbaby,convincingothers–and - them throughGianna’sChoicePregnancyOptionsand selves–thathehaddiedatbirth.If theyhadonly Support,aprogrammeof FamilyLifeInternational. had a glimpse of the unconditional love this young man would bring to everyone he meets and how How do you think this experience has he radiates the gentle love of Christ inCM: everyone he encounters! shaped your lives? What has it meant for Elizabethis (16) abundleof joy,noiseandexu your faith? berantloveof life.Herbirthmumwasjustfifteen and loved her baby very much. Born with Down CB:IthinkourveryspecialfamilyshapedMichelle syndrome, Waardenburg syndrome (profoundly andherfamily’spro-lifecommitment.Thisisvery death), coeliac disease, ADHD, heart disease evident – in each of the family members’ lives and which required open heart surgery with ongoing thechildrenhaveallgrownupwiththeknowledge monitoring and follow up throughout her childhood that it is the most natural order in life to accept and –andcompromisedeyeproblems,shehasproved embraceGod'spreciousgiftof life. tobeahugechallenge,butonethatisnonetheless For Terry and myself, our special family has a true witness to the sanctity of life and stands at brought us so much joy and happiness; so much the very core of what FLI’s mission and vision is work, I guess, but, at the same time, it extra hard allabout.Againachildof unconditionallove and hasmoulded ustobecomelessselfish,tobegivers acceptanceof everyonesheencounters. of life and hope in every sense of the word. And Our Blessed Lord has entrusted to me, and tomostespecially,ithasmadeourCatholicmarriage all my children, our very own Joseph. Protector, strongandunshakeable,withoursacramentallife helper, and provider, Saint Joseph was the foster theheightandsummitof ourmarriage.Our - mar fatherof Jesus,atrueexampleof realfatherhood, riageisof three:God,youandme. andself-giving.Terry,myhusband,isa“StJoseph” in every sense. As a carpenter himself,-he has al CM: Before you set out on this course, what waysbeenfirstly ( servanttoand)verygraciousand guidance did you seek and what turned out friendlytoeveryonehemet.Ourhomehasalways beenopentochildrenwhoneededcare,and tomost valuable piece of advice? toopen be the every pregnant mother in need who came our way

What advice would you give to expectant

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“We can learn understanding, acceptance and, above all, to humble ourselves; to recognise that, in our pride and desire to have a perfect life – a utopian world – it may well be ourselves who are the most ‘handicapped’.” parents who are told that their child is likely to have a disability?

hehaddecoded.Iwassittingaloneatthebreakfast table,inthehotelwheretheconferencewasbeing held, when Prof Lejeune asked if he might join CB: We never set out on a course to adopt - spe me–Iwastotallystunnedanddeeplyhumbled.He cial-needsbabies.Itwasthemostnaturalorderspoke in withmeinthegentlest,yetmostauthorita ourmarriagetoaccept,withopenandloving arms,manneraboutthegiftof Downsyndrome.He tive thefamilythatOurBlessedLordhaddesignedspoke for of thefactthattheextrachromosomecausing usfromalltime.Wejustacceptedeachgiftof thelife Downsyndromecouldbelikenedtoacarthat presented to us and learnt as we went along the neededsomefine-tuning–notrunningtoowellbut pathwayof life. which,withsomeextratweakingof thesparkplugs, Intheveryearly’90s,whilstattendingaconfer couldrunverywell!TheProfessorwentontogive enceintheUSA,ImetProf JérômeLejeunewho me excellent advice on the medical care of our son was giving a presentation on genetics and the unBenjamin,andhowimportantvitaminB1would 2 ravellingof thefascinatingDNAsequencing bewhich in developing our precious son’s intellec

Colleen Bayer and her daughter Michelle pictured with Gianna Emanuela Molla, daughter of Gianna Beretta Molla.

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“Parents who receive an adverse diagnosis will naturally be unsure what this all means. Do not succumb to the pressures you will encounter at every level and never ever give up hope. In turn, you will receive abundant grace and the baby will strengthen you too. Your lives may have a different road map than you had planned, but nonetheless that road will bring you ever closer to Christ and each other.” need.Mostof all,embraceyourbaby–heorshe needs you more than you can ever imagine. Do not succumb to the pressures you will encounter at everylevel,letthisopportunitystrengthenyouand never ever give up hope. In turn, you will receive abundant grace and the baby will strengthen you too.Yourlivesmayhaveadizerentroadmapthan you had planned, but nonetheless that road will bringyoueverclosertoChristandeachother–if youallowthisnewjourneytobegin.

CM: Sickness, disability and death are a consequence of the sin of Adam, but God always draws good out of evil. The lives of disabled Bishop Michael Gielen, Auxiliary Bishop of Auckland, James van people seem like a sign of contradiction in Schie, Diocesan General Manager and Colleen Bayer in front of Saint Gianna Home for Mothers and Babies. © NZCatholic a world that is increasingly obsessed with bodily health and material success. What can keepinghimhealthy.Prof Lejeunewastobecome the rest of society learn from them? a major inspiration for Terry and me in the medical care of Benjamin; the saintly man who devoted his CB: The gifts which people with disabilities bring lifetomedicine,andsuzeredsomuchatthehands to the world are multiple. For the world, they are of progressivemedicalprofessionals,sawthe fittothread spendthat holds the tapestry of life together, afewpreciousmomentswithaKiwiladywhohad bringingthewoundedChristtotheworldinavery asonwithDownsyndrome. importantway,givingstrengthtoasadandlonely For parents who receive an adverse diagnosis, world – if we allow this. Interwoven with - vulner they will naturally be dismayed and unsure what abilities (meaning a certain dependence on family this all means. I think it is important to take time andsociety),andwithgiftednessunsurpassed,the topraytogetherandseekadvice:onthenature worldof stands to become a better place for everyone thediagnosis,withtheviewof beingprepared if wefor choose to show authentic compassion. We this special gift of life; on what to expect and how can learn understanding, acceptance and, above to gather together the support network you may 48

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all, to humble ourselves; to recognise that,aspire in ourtoforourfamily.Someyearsago,Itriedto prideanddesiretohaveaperfectlife–start autopian Missionariesof Loveforoursandotheryoung world–itmaywellbeourselveswhoarethemost peoplefacingthesechallengesinlife.Hoping “handicapped”. in our little way, we could start a truly Catholic homeforourmissionariesof love–alittlelikew CM: In 2020 a majority of New Zealanders haveopenedtheSaintGianna’sHomeforMothers andBabies.Perhaps,asIamonlyseventyyearsold, voted to legalise euthanasia. Why do you thereisstilltimetorealisethisdream.

think this happened?

CB:Euthanasiastemsfromthesamementalityas CM: What are your plans for the future and

contraception, abortion and sterilization. was people go to find out more about whereItcan inevitable that, in a society that has rejected God the work of Family Life International? and the magisterium of the Catholic Church on criticallifeissues,despitethemassive-lobbying, CB:Mypersonal sub plansforthefutureof FamilyLife missions and countless initiatives by many learned Internationalhavealways beenthat,Godwilling, professionals,thegovernmentstillmanaged weto would enact be able to establish a much stronger edthelawforeuthanasiainourcountry,traditionally ucational facility, with the outcome of a true and knownfondlyasGod’sOwn! ezective“Cultureof Life”firmlyestablishedinthis countryandfullyrealisinganewandheroic Chris CM: The introduction of euthanasia is a tian order of life, faith and the family. This new centre would also accommodate Saint Gianna's disturbing development for all vulnerable Home for Mothers and Babies, along with our groups but the parents of disabled children CatholicGiftsshopwhichisagreatwitnesstothe must be even more fearful of what might faith and an important source of revenue for the apostolate.

happen when they are no longer there to protect them. What are families in New Zealand doing to fight the culture of death?

For more information about the work, and other initiatives,of FamilyLifeInternational,pleasevisi fli.org.nz;pregnancyoptions.org.nz CB:Verylittle,sadly.Itseemstobeanindividual andcatholicgifts.co.nz familything.FLImakesresourcesavailableandhas started a project, called the Therese Programme, ozeringsupportandresourcestofamilies whore ceiveanadversediagnosis. Forourselves,wenaturallyfearwhatwillbecome of our three special adults who will always need care and protection. I pray daily for good health and longevityof lifeforthesakeof ourfamily. Some families I know of are looking to buy a house where their young family members can live in a supported care environment as they get to the ageof needingsomeindependenceintheirlives.It isalongandlonelyjourney.Therearecommunity homesthathousetheseyoungadults,buteventhat isverydi{cult,asthevaluesarenotthosewewould S PR I NG 2 0 22

Gianna Beretta Molla A HYMN TO GOD, TO LIFE, TO THE FAMILY

by VIRGINIA CODA NUNZIANTE

Pietro,if youmustchoosebetweenmeandthe tobeoneof themostezectivemeans - of apos child,don’thesitate:choosethechild.Idemand tolate.” it–savehim.” Itwastheprofessionwhich,betterthananyother, Gianna addressed these words to her husband a brought her face to face with her suzering neigh fewdaysbeforeherdeath.Toconsiderher bour, choice inwhomshesawJesusHimself.Itwasduring a spontaneous act of heroism, brought on bythese the years that she wrote: forebodingof inevitabledeath,wouldbeamistake. “Let - con Itistheresultof awholelifeanchoredinGod andussanctifythepresentmoment.Letus fidethepasttothemercyof God,thefutureto devoted to others. Gianna would have given her divine lifeforanyone,intheimageof herRedeemerandprovidence,ourtaskistoliveholilyinthe presentmoment,tolivethewillof Godateach SaviourWhogaveHislifeforher. instant and to live it with joy. If I do my duty GiannaBerettawasbornnearMilan,onOc 4 tober 1922, to profoundly Christian parents. She nowthenGodwillhelpme.” receivedherFirstHolyCommunionattheage In951 she ,4 ofwentonpilgrimagetoLourdes,accom five-and-a-half and, from then on, made the Eu panyingthesick.Atthefeetof theHolyVirgin,she charist the sustenance and the centre of her whole prayed to know the will of God. That same year, existence.Hersister,Virginia,wholaterbecame a herfuturehusband,PietroMolla,forthe shemet religiousmissionary,rememberedherasfirst follows: time.Recallingthisday,hewouldlaterwrite, “Godcouldnothavegivenmeagreatergift.” “God had given her a special beauty, charac In the first letter which Gianna wrote to him, terised by a gentle and profound look which she adirectly expressed her whole conception of revealed a balanced spirit, a pure soul and marriage: generousheart,opentoallgood.So,asachild shewasnaïve,pureandsimple;shewasthesame “DearPietro,I… trulywishtomakeyouhappy asanadolescent.” andtobewhatyoudesire:good,understanding andreadyforthesacrificeswhichlifewillaskof Despite the hardships of the war and the loss of us… Now,youmustalreadyknowthatIloveyou bothherparents,oneaftertheotherin - 1942,Gi and that I have the intention of giving myself annafinishedhereducation;goingonto- studymed to you to make a truly Christian family. Dear icine at the University of Milan and, later, at the Pietro,excusemyconfidence,butIammadefor Universityof Pavia.Herbrother,FrAlberto,said: this.Seeyouagain.Withlove,Gianna.” “Giannaalwaysfeltverystronglyinherself the OnSeptember, 01 justbeforetheirwedding,which ideal of doing good to others and she chose the would take place on 24 September in St Martin’s medical profession because she considered it

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“Let us sanctify the present moment. Let us confide the past to the mercy of God, the future to divine providence, our task is to live holily in the present moment, to live the will of God at each instant and to live it with joy. If I do my duty now then God will help me.” a heart which has always loved and served him holily.OPietro,howmuchIhavetolearnfrom you!YouaremyexampleandIthankyou.So, with the help and blessing of God, we will do everything to make our new family a-little ce naclewhereJesusreignsoverallourazections, desires and actions. My Pietro, it is only a few daysnowandIamsomovedtoapproachand receivetheSacramentof Love.Wewillbecome thecollaboratorsof Godincreation,sowecan giveHimchildrenwholoveandserveHim.”

Theirprayerswereanswered.Pierluigiwasbornon 19 November 1956, Maria Zita on 1 December 1957 (God would call her to join her mother in heaven at the age of six, when she died of acute St Gianna and Pietro Molla are shown during their honeymoon in Taormina, Italy, in October 1955. (Photo courtesy of Gianna glomerulonephritisresultinginkidneyfailure Emanuela Molla) Lauraon15July1959. In spite of di{cult pregnancies, Gianna and BasilicainMagenta,PietrotouchedGianna’sheart Pietrostillwantedtohavechildrenand,inAugust when he wrote: 1961, she became pregnant once again. Towards the end of the second month, however, a uterine “My dear Gianna, … with the certitude that Godwantedustobeunited,youandIhaveset fibroiddeveloped.AccordingtoPietro,shewasfree, in this serious situation, to choose between three outonournewlife.Duringtheselastmonths, ev options: the first, to remove the fibroid,-terminat erything has been a crescendo of understanding ing the pregnancy and excluding the possibility of andazection.Now,ourunderstandingisperfect, having more children (the surest and safest option because heaven is our light and the divine law is ourguide.Andourunionisfullbecausewefor are herandthefuture);thesecond,toremovethe fibroid, oneheartandonesoul,asinglesentiment anda terminatingthepregnancybutpreserving the possibility of other pregnancies (the sure and singleazection.Andourlove,pureandstrong, safeoptionforhernowbutnotforthefuture);and knows how to look forward to the benediction thethird,toremovethefibroidwithoutterminat of heaven.” ingthepregnancy,norexcludingthepossibilityo Sheresponded: otherpregnanciesthe ( mostdangerousoption,both for herself and for the future). Without the least “Dearest Pietro, I know that you will always perplexity,shechosethethirdoption. make me as happy as I am now and that God willhearyourprayers,becausetheycomefrom

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Intheafternoonof April 20 196she 2, wasad andof body,justastheirholymotherknewhow mittedtohospital:sheconfidedherlifeandthat toof preserve them, by Your grace and blessing, thechildtoDivineProvidenceandrepeated, with “Iamwiseandlovingcare. ready for whatever God wills.” Gianna prepared “Make herself forthetremendousact:“Iamdoingthe willmy children worthy always, each day of of GodandGodwillprovideformychildren.”Intheir life, of the holiness of the martyrdom of their holy mother. Make me less unworthy, themorningof 21April,afterseveralattemptsto havehergivebirthnaturally,sheunderwent- acesarthe least unworthy possible, of the holiness of iansection.LittleGiannaEmanuelawasbornbut, myspouse,sothat,byyourgrace,Imaystand in her afterafewshorthours,hermother’scondition hadplace in goodness and in the raising of our children. Give to me, and to my children, deteriorated: her fever and terrible abdominal pains thegrace,certitudeandinezablecomfortwhich fromsepticperitonitisbecameworseandworse. made Saint Augustine write, concerning his Hersister,Virginia,related: motherinheaven,‘Whenyouwerealive,Isaw youwhereyouwere.NowthatyouareinPara “She asked me to call a priest. While waiting,dise,IfeelyoupresentwhereverIam.’ she wanted my missionary crucifix. She kissed it emotionally. Then she said to me in a weak “And you, Gianna, help me to carry my cross, voice,‘If youonlyknewwhatcomfortIreceive daybyday;toaccomplishthewillof OurLord from kissing the crucifix. Oh! if it weren’t heroically. for Obtainforourchildren,andalsofor Jesuscomfortingusatcertainmoments!’Gianna me,thedivinegracetomakeussaints. refused all anaesthetic in order to remain vigilant “Makeusapproachyoumoreeachday,sothat and continue her calvary in intimate union with each day we may climb a step of the mystical OurLord.” ladder of Jacob, until we reach the top, where AtdawnonEasterSaturday,28April196in 2, ac you are waiting for us. And intercede for us so cordance with the wish which she had expressed to that,whenOurLordcallsus toHim, Hemay herhusband,shewastakenbackhome,whereshe find us worthy to stand side by side with you diedat8o’clockinthemorning,onhernuptial forever. bed, Amen.” whereshehadgivenbirthtoherchildren.Shewas only 39 years old. During her last agony, GiannaItwasonlyyearslaterthatPietrounderstoodGod’s repeatedseveraltimes,“Jesus,Iloveyou!” plans.“If shehadstayedherewithus,”hesaidto hisdaughter,GiannaEmanuela,“shewouldhave Pietrowrotetohisbrother-in-law: continued to do good to the family, to- her neigh bour, to the sick, but Our Lord wanted her to do “Dear Fr Alberto, … Each day since she has good to many more people in the whole world.” beeninheaven,IozerthisprayertoOurLord On 24 April 1994, only 32 years after her death, and to Gianna: she was proclaimed “Blessed” by Pope John Paul II. Andtenyearslater,onMay 16 the 204, same ‘Jesus,YouwhohavecalledamongyourAngels popecanonisedher,namingherpatronof mothers, myspouseandthemotherof mychildren,make doctorsandunbornchildren. my children advance this day in wisdom and gracewithYou,withOurLady,withtheirholy mother, with their peers, with men, day after day;justasYouadvancedinYourHolyFamily inNazareth,andastheirmotherknewhowto raise them. Keep them in good health of soul

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Christ healing the ten people with leprosy. Engraving by Louis Surugue after G. Genga (1476–1551). Wellcome Collection, London.

reflection

healing

OUR LORD’S MINISTRY OF b y D R J O S E P H S H AW

mong the best-known and best-loved stories of course, but by its of Christ’s earthly ministry are those nature, of his a change in a healingthesick.Inthesestorieswehearthe soul voices is above all inteof thesewhometHim:theirdesperation,their rior. faith, andtheirweaknesses.Theyareeasyforusto - iden The healing of tify with. They were among Jesus’ first followers, thebody,bycontrast, and they model for us the ordinary faithful: not the is very often visible: innercircleof Apostlesanddisciples,butthe those deafwho hear and the simplyheardtheWord,andbelieved.Theycame lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the paralysed rise toHimwiththeirproblems,andHehelpedthem. fromthebeds,thedeadreturntotheirlovedones Why, we might ask, is there such an emphasis alive.Thesethingsfrequentlyhappen,-intheGos in the Gospels on healing the sick? The miracles pels,intheopen,withacrowdlookingon:infront demonstratethedivinefavourChristenjoyed, of theand funeral party of the son of the widow of evenHisdivinepower:unliketheprophets Naim,of for the example. OldTestament,andtheApostlesinActs,itisclear This incidentally shows the absurdity of the that Our Lord cures by his own initiative, at will, idea that these stories should be understood as andnotasamereinstrumentof God.However,this non-miraculous. Someone in a coma might be couldalsobe,andalsowas,shownbyhisothermir thoughttobedead;someformsof skin-diseasemay acles:calmingthestorm,multiplyingtheloaves be amenable and to cure by hypnotic suggestion; but fishes,andeventhingslikeknowingmen’sthoughts, Jesuswouldhavehadtotrytorousethousandsof knowing where Peter could catch a shoal of corpses fish, and cure heaven knows how many lepers andescapingfromanangrymob. beforehecouldfindonewhowouldrespondtoHis Thecureshaveaspecialimportance,neverthe wordof command,if thiswasoperatingsimplyas less,becausetheyaresymbolicexpressionsa natural of thecause. He would have been regarded as core purpose of His mission: to save souls. alaughing The stock,notathaumaturge. conversion of Zacchaeus the tax-collector In(Luke anycase,thecureof thosesickinbodyserves 19:1perhaps 10),themostdramaticconversioninasanaptsymbolof thecureof thosesickinsoul. theGospels,isnevertheless,initself,hidden: The conversion peo of sinners is an interior action of plecouldnotseethestateof Zacchaeus’soul, grace; and thehealingof thephysicallysickisadivine they were at first doubtful about it (Luke 19:7). It interventionof avisiblekind.Bothkindsof malady is then manifested by his actions of repentance, areconnectedwithsinandthepowerof thedevil. Jesus healed a woman who was “bent over”, and S PR I NG 2 0 22

reflection

“When a doctor restores health to a patient, when a judge restores justice to a victim of crime by punishing a criminal, or when a parent restores order and beauty to a home after it has been reduced to chaos by small children, Satan’s kingdom has been, in a small way, beaten back.”

describes her as having been “bound by Satan” Illnessbeingaconsequenceof sindoesnotimpl Luke ( :131 and ,)5 yetthecurewasnotanexorcism. thatthemoreillwearephysically,theworsesinners Hedidnotcommandthespirittodepart,butlaid we are. Jesus explains that God’s justice does not HishandsonherLuke ( :131 To .)3 sayshehadbeen work like that. God permits the consequences of “boundbySatan”isnottoputherinthecategory OriginalSinastheymanifestthemselvesinillness, of thedemoniac,butisawayof pointingoutasthat heoftenpermitstheconsequencesof humansin, herinfirmity,likeallphysicalinfirmities,isfor asign His of ownpurposes:inshort,forHisownglory thereignof Satanoverthenaturalworld,including (John9:3We ). cannotexpect,forthemostpart,to thehumanbody.Jesuscametoliberateherfromthe understandwhythisisso,butonereasonisthatin bondsof Satan,andthissignof givinghernew aworld lifeinwhichSatanisinpower,itisbothnatural wasforthatreasonacceptableasaSabbathwork: andnecessarythattheconsequencesbevisible.We savinglifeisalwayslegitimateonaSabbath. needtoseethebrokennessof thehumancondition.

Jesus healing an infirm woman. James Tissot (1886–1896). Brooklyn Museum, New York.

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o u r lor d ’s m ini s t ry of he a l ing

The miraculous restoration of the health of the body is a symbol, we might say an acted parable, of the restoration of the health of the soul, and the latter is a more impressive work of God. In a healing, God does something which in principle could be done by natural causes; in a ‘miracle of grace’,thereconciliationof ahuman - soultoHim self,Hedoessomethingwhichnonaturalcausecan achieve.Christ’sdemonstrationof divinepowerin visible healings is a hint or a promise that He can do something still greater, in the invisible healing of thesoul. The role of the Gospel miracles as demonstrations of Christ’s divine power explains why mira clesintheChurchinlateragesaremorelikethose describedintheOldTestament.Theyare-lessfre quent,andcomenotfromthemiracle-workerusing hisownpower,butbyhisbeggingGod’sinterven tion.Itisagreatpitywhenpeoplewritingaboutthe saintsexcludetheirmiracles.Itshowsaridiculous The Crucifixion (ca.1420–1423 ). Fra Angelico. pre-judging of the historical evidence; it renders The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. incomprehensible the popular reaction to some of thesaints(peopledon’tclamourformiracles from and beauty to a home after it has been reduced to peoplewhodon’thaveareputationforperforming chaosbysmallchildren,Satan’skingdomhasbeen, them); and for many of the saints miracles were inasmallway,beatenback. an important part of their work. It can also give Inourworkinthevineyardof theLordweare the impression that God withdrew His favour from generally expected to use natural means to our the Church at some odd moment in history, and ends,notmiracles.Throughthesenaturalmeans, stopped granting miracles: although apparently we must glorify God and serve our fellow men. peopleatthetimedidn’tnotice. Medicineisamongthemostnoblepurelynatural WhatIhavesaidhasanimportantimplication artsbywhichGod’swillcanbedoneonearth,until for the natural art of healing: the practice of medithat time when the universe is perfectly conformed cine.Diseaseandinjuryareconsequences ofHis Orig to will,when“everytearshallbewipedaway” inalSin,andtheyaresignsof thestillactive(Apoc power 21.4) of Satanovertheworld,aworldwhichevenafter Christ’sPassionandResurrectionremains - abattle ground between good and evil. God continues to permitdisease,evenasitazectsthesaints,for com plex reasons which we will often not understand, justasHepermitsotherevils.Thisdoesnotmean He does not wish us to combat them: in allowing evils,Heallows,forgoodreasons,whatHehates. Whenadoctorrestoreshealthtoapatient,whena judge restores justice to a victim of crime by punishingacriminal,orwhenaparentrestoresorder

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St Benedict sending Mauro to France and Placido to Sicily (1540). Bartolomeo Neroni. Fresco from The Life of St Benedict in the Great Cloister of the Benedictine monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore in Tuscany.

fa i t h of o u r fat h e r s

A letter from a

Benedictine monk

THE DISPOSITIONS FOR PRAYER III:

Compunction according to St Benedict and St Gregory the Great Calx Mariae

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Filled with the life-giving waters of the Holy Ghost, your istheviceof melancholy.Compunctionisthework soul, O Benedict, gushed forth rivers of wonders that withered of theHolyGhost,aspiritualbanquetof virtuous up abusive passions. 1 ThussingstheByzantineDivine dispositions;melancholyistheworkof thedevil O{ce in praise of St Benedict, based on whatspiritual St destitution wrought by passions and sinful Gregorytellsusabouthim,thathe was filled with the desires.Speakingof thesetwokindsof sadness,St Spirit of all the justDial ( II,8)as , wellasonthewords Paulsaysthat the sorrow that is according to God worketh of ChristthatwesingattheVigilof Pentecost: On penance, steadfast unto salvation: but the sorrow of the world 2 To help us understand the last day of the festivity, Jesus said: He that believeth in worketh death (2 Cor 7:10). me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Now this dizerence better, we could translate St Paul’s this He said of the Spirit which they should receive who original text to Godly read,grief leads to an abiding believed in HimJn ( :37 –37 9)Moreover, . inPsalm601 and salutary transformation of the heart; but worldly grief we read of the mystery of the withered passions in leads to death. the words: He hath turned rivers into a wilderness and Howdowetellthedizerencebetweenthetwo? the sources of waters into dry ground: A fruitful land into Tobeginwith,weshouldrecognisethatallsadness, barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. whethercompunctionormelancholy,resultsfrom Then, concerning the mystery of new, divine life we read: someloss,realorperceived.Initsinitialstages,all 3 but we are the ones who He hath turned a wilderness into pools of water: and a dry sadnessismorallyneutral, land into water springs. guideittowardseithercompunctionormelancholy StBenedictwasatruebearerandservantof the Allsadnessisaboutloss:thelossof someimportant HolyGhost;forthisreason,weprayontheoctave object,thelossof ajob,thelossof ahouseorcar, day of his summer feast: Raise up, O Lord, within thy thelossof apet,thelossof theazectionandrespect Church the Spirit which our holy Father Benedict the Abbot of others,thelossof animportantrelationship,the served, so that, filled with the same Spirit, we may love what lossof love,thelossof alovedone.Thesadnesscan he loved and practice what he taught. One of the most be greater or lesser depending on the object that is conspicuous ways in which the Holy Ghost was lost, on the circumstances that brought about the activeinStBenedict’slifewasinhiscompunction loss,andonwhetherornotthatwhichwaslostcan and frequent prayer with tears, two things which berecoveredorrestoredinsomeway. he also energetically recommends to his disciples Now, if our fundamental disposition is one of in his Rule.Butwemustnotethatnotallformsof faith in Jesus Christ, then we will be able-to con sadness qualify as compunction, and not allsider tearsthese questions reasonably and accurately; arevirtuous.Indeed,someareveryharmful. wewillknowif wecandosomethingtoregainthat Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which separates whichwehavelost,andif so,wewillprayforthe from God and leads to hell, so there is a good zeal which wisdom and fortitude to do just that. If, however, separates from vices and leads to God and to life everlast- the lost object is beyond recovery, we will see that ing(RB73; Dilatato Corde,98).WiththesewordsSt either that which was lost was not as important as Benedict introduces the penultimate chapter of the weinitiallythoughtittobe,or,if itwas,wewillbe Rule.Inourezorttounderstandcompunction, weto come to terms with the loss, to accept the able could simply substitute the word zeal with sadness in newrealitywithfaithinGod’sprovidentialloveand this sentence: Just as there is an evil sadness of bitterness submission to His holy will. Moreover, we will let which separates from God and leads to hell, so there is a good God Himself take the place of that which was lost, sadness which separates from vices and leads to God and to life andthewordsof OurLadywillcometopassinus, everlasting.Indeed,thereisagoodsadnessthatleads that He has filled the hungry with good thingsLk ( .)1 Tears ustoGodandpreparesusforheaven,andthiswe are good,saysStAmbrose, if you know Christ, 4 thatis, call compunction; and there is an evil sadness that if you grieve in the truth and love of God. Grief separatesusfromGodandpreparesusforhell, this that is conducted in this manner, that is, faith, in

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God the Father (ca.1510–1517). Attributed to Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano. Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

has a beginning and an end. It will have its tears, facing reality or accepting the truth. Melancholy no doubt, but eventually, it will lead to a stronger of this kind is born of pride, and often leads to a faith, a more vibrant hope, and a deeper love crippling for self-pity that blames others for the losses God,andthisproducesbothpeaceandjoy.Grief ithassuzered. thatisfilledwithfaithisnotsterile,butactiveand Melancholycanarisefromprideina-slightlydif fruitful; it is not bitter, but sweet and gentle; ferent it is mannerintheformof self-hate.Someonein not restless, but generates deep peace andthis repose stateseeshimself asafailurebytheworld’s stan inthesoul.Suchgrief ishappilytransformed dards into (notGod’s)and , consequentlydespiseshimself. aholycompunction. Inthis,asinallformsof theviceof melancholy,the If, however, one does not grieve in influence faith, but of thedemonsisreadilyvisible,forthe rather tries “to go it alone”, without God, - men aimistomakeusfeelandthinkthatwearehated tal confusion ensues. One is usually incapable byGod of andothers.ButitisimpossibleforGodto findingthepathoutof thedarkwood.Thingsthat hate us, for according to the words of Scripture haverelativelysmallimportancetakeon - adispro thatwesingonAshWednesday,thou hast mercy upon portionateandunmeritedsignificance.Inall, place becauseof thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins theresignationtoGod’swillthatmakesfor ofpeace, men for the sake of repentance. For thou lovest all things there is a militant anger that refuses to accept any that are, and hatest none of the things which thou hast made loss,abitternessthattreatseveryoneasanenemy (Wisdom 1:24-25; Introit for Ash Wednesday). at some level. Such grief has lamentably become This melancholy of self-hate may seem both to the melancholy.Melancholyof thissortrefuses one towho ac suzers it as well as to others as humility cept reality, and thus has no end; it superficially – as a holy contempt of self; but just how far it is limps along without going deeper, without ever

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Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych, right panel (ca.1430–1440). Jan van Eyck. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

from humility is proved by the coldness, indeed, contempt,suchapersonfeelsforGod. Genuine humility, on the contrary, is always bound to a deep love for God, and submission to 5 Thedesiretorejoiceinone’s Hiswill. owngreat ness,moreover,leadstobittergrief,sincethesource 6 of truejoy,God,hasbeenabandoned. Thereisanotherkindof melancholythatdesires earthly goods, and is saddened by the absence or loss thereof. Speaking of this kind of sadness, St Gregory the Great says that tears that seek after perishable goods have no fruit7 since they seek to obtainlimitedandtransitorygoods–wealth,power, pleasure,orvainglory.Peopleaïictedwith - thismel ancholy devoutly submit themselves to the harshest 8 and things, yokesof slaveryinordertoobtainthese areyetmoremiserableif theysucceedintheiraim, since every worldly good must be anxiously guardedagainstloss,andmustultimatelybeforfeitedat death. Therefore, the Psalms admonish Be not us: thou afraid when a man shall be made rich, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away: nor shall his glory descend with him(Ps48:17–18). The sorrow of compunction, however, is as farfrommelancholyastheEastisfromtheWest. Someone pervaded with compunction - is not sad dened by the loss of temporal things, but by the lossof God.LikethePsalmist,suchapersonfinds consolationinGod9alone, and merits the beatitude pronounced by Him: Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Mt 5:5). Such souls consider themselves mere wayfarers and see this life for what it is – a place of pilgrimage and a valley of tears, andarethusfilledwithasorrowthatis,according toStGregory,thebitternessof the amaritudo wise( 0 1 sapientium) and the grief of the hearts of the elect (luctus cordis electorum). 1 StGregorydistinguishestwobasickinds-of com punction:oneof fearandoneof love.Theforme isapurificationfromsinandaprotectionagainst it; the latter is a force of spiritual desire that draws us heavenwards: “There are four ways in which the soul of the just man is powerfully moved to compunction: when heremembers his evil deeds,

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considering where he was (ubi fuit); or fearing the 7). It makes us fear the Day of Judgment and fills us sentence of the judgments of God and analysing with dread of hell,enablingus to dash against Christ the himself, he considers where he ubi will erit); or be ( evil thoughts that come into our heart and to confess our past when, carefully considering the evils - of sins the to God pres daily in our prayers with tears and sighs, and to ent life, grieving he considers ubiwhere est); amend he isthem ( for the future(RBIt 4). makesusfear grievor when he contemplates the good things of the ing by our evil actions the God and Father who has deigned heavenlyhomelandwhich,becausehedoesnot to count yetus among His sons, and makes us serve Him with obtain,mourninghecontemplateswherehe the is good not things He has given us, lest He disinherit us as an 1 2 (ubi non est).” Let us take a look at each of theseangry Father, or even worse, as a dread Lord, provoked by compunctions. our disobedience and sins, deliver us to eternal punishment Thefirsttwoarisefromthefearof God,which as wicked servants who did not want to follow Him to glory isthefirstandfoundationalgiftof theHoly(RB Ghost prologue). becausefromitflowtheotherswhichculminateFinally, in itmakesusfeelguilt theof our sins at every wisdom,for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom moment in such a way that we consider ourselves already (Ps10).Thegiftof wisdom( sapientia)allowsusto present at the dread Judgment and constantly say in our heart have a connaturality with divine things, that is, what it the publican in the Gospel said with his eyes fixed on the allows us to taste the mysteries of faith; the gift of earth: Lord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up my eyes understanding (intellectus)allowsustocomprehend to heaven (RB7;Lk18:1Souls 3). pervadedwiththis thesemysteriesintheirrichnessandwonder. two-fold Havingcompunction of fear feel a deep contrition had a taste of heavenly things and understood them fortheirsins,andfearbeingplacedwiththedamned atadeeperlevel,wearethengiventhegift - of atthe knowl leftsideof Christ,theJustJudge. edge (scientia), by which we better know God and Therefore,theymaketheirownthepetitionsof thethingsHehascreated,andthroughthegiftthe of Miserere,Psalm50,thatunsurpassedprayerof counsel (consilium)Godteachesushowtoact.Now repentance and contrition; and they beg for merit is above all through the gift of knowledge that the cy as if already present at the Last Judgment, in 3 1 compunctionof fearmaturesandgrows forinus,sentiments that are perfectly expressed in the Dies itallowsustoseeourselvesasweare,withthesins Irae,thatmasterpieceof poetichymnodyfromthe thatleadusawayfromGod,butalsoascreatedin RequiemMass.Inbothof theseprayers,weseetwo Hisimageandlikeness,andredeemedbytheBlood kindsof divinefear:ontheonehand,aservilefea of HisSon,andinlovecalledtobeholylike thatHim. is in dread of punishment, and on the other Seeingoursinfulnessandingratitudetowards hand, God, a filial fear that shudders at the thought of wearefilledwithdisgustatourselvesandcome ozending to God.Thefirst,servilefeargradually di hateoursins;butseeingthepricetheSonof minishes God asthesecond,thefilialfear,increases,for paidforoursalvation,wearegivenhopetofilial amend fear is an expression of charity, that perfectof ourlivesandbecomeholyasHeisholy. love of God which casts out servile fear. 14 Thus the gift of the fear of the Lord inspires us to Asfilialfearincreasesandweenterintothethird be ever mindful of all that God has commanded,andleads compunction, so too does our love for God and our thoughts to constantly meditate on the hell-fire which ourdesiretobewithHiminheaven,andthisgives will burn for their sins those who despise God, and thus rise to a readiness to labour in this life in order to guards us at every moment from sins and vices, whether of merit eternal bliss in the next. A great source of the mind, the tongue, the hands, the feet, or the self-will, and consolation for someone in this state is the lovely checks also the desires of the flesh. This fear gives us a prayer of the Salve Regina,whereinweturntoOur certitude that God is always looking at us from heaven, Ladytoconsoleusamidsttheinevitableaïictions and that our actions are everywhere visible to the divine eyes of thislife.Oureyesthenlookuponthisworldanew. and are constantly being reported to God by the Angels(RB Weseeitforwhatitis:aplaceof exile,temptation,

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toilandsuzering,allasajustpenancefororiginal sin and for our many personal sins. St Benedict therefore tells us in the opening lines of the prologue that it is through the labor of obedience that we may return to Him from whom we had departed through the sloth of disobedience;forthisreasonthenovicemonk should be told all the hard and rugged ways by which the journey to God is madeRB ( 8)5 But . GodinHismercy allowsustoseeeventhesesuzeringsasblessedin theirownright,forbythem share wein the sufferings of Christ and deserve to have a share also in His kingdom (RBprologue)It . isforthisreasonthatStBenedict desired the miseries of the world more than the praises of men, and to be wearied with labour for God’s sake rather than to be exalted by the favours of this life (Dial. II,1). Inthishegaveproof of thepresenceof thegiftof fortitude,whichenablesustobearadversethingsin ourfidelitytoChrist.Howabundantlydidhissoul gush forth rivers of wonder that dried up arrogant passions!Sincethesourceof thoseriverswerethe The Mass of Saint Gregory (before1480). Diego de la Cruz. 15 life-giving waters of the Holy we Ghost, can be National Art Museum of Catalonia. sure that his love for God increased with every tear ustoo heshedamidstthetoilandsuzeringsheendured in–afittingcrowntoaccompanythatlastgift of theHolyGhost,piety,throughwhichwefirmly thislife,exemplifyingwhatStGregorysaysabout establishouridentityasGod’ssonsanddaughters, the saints in general, that the more the just soul sweats and can sing: let my mouth be filled with praise, that I in the doleful affliction of hardship, the more it thirsts to may sing thy glory: thy greatness all the day long(Ps70:8; contemplate the face of its Creator. IntroitforPentecostFriday). HavingbecomesodeartoGodbyhislabours, May theHoly Ghost deigntobringaboutthis St Benedict was firmly established in the fourth compunction – in which there is no moremarvellous sorrow, workof compunctioninourlivestoo,in who are as a desert land where there is no way and no butonlysoul-piercingjoy–andsensedHimus close ). theGospelforPentecostSunday andavailabletohimwheneverheprayed.Andwater he (Ps62:3In Our Lord tellsusthatIf anyone love Me, he will keep tellsusthesamewillhappentous,when for you have My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to done these things, the eyes of our Heavenly Father will be him and will make Our abode in himJn ( :241 .)3 Consider, upon you and His ears will be open to your prayers; and before my dearest brethren,saysStGregory, what a great dignity you call upon Him, He will say to you, “Behold, here I am” (RB prologue; Is 58:9). Having been given such a it is to have as a guest the Lord who comes to our hearts.But usnotreceiveHiminvain, He indeed forcomes into clear perception of God’s sweetness, Stlet Benedict the hearts of some yet does not make His permanent abode preferred nothing to the love of Christ and desired eternal life in them, for although they perceive the sight of God through with all spiritual concupiscenceRB ( and ,)4 since,inthis compunction, in time of temptation they forget the very thing life,ChristispresenttousaboveallinHoly Mass they perceived while they had compunction, and in this way and the praise of the Divine O{ce that perpetu return to their sins as if they had never shed a tear. 17 atestheEucharisticsacrifice,hehimself preferred nothingtoit,andadmonishesustolikewiseesteem it above all things. The psalms thus became his mosttreasuredprayers,andhehopestheywillfor 64

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ENDNOTES: 1.

4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

Antiphon from the Office of Orthros, or Lauds: Ναμάτων ζωτικῶν τοῦ Θείου Πνεύματος, πλησθεῖσα Βενέδικτε ἡ ψυχή σου, ποταμούς θαυμάτων ἔβλυσε, νοσημάτων ξηραίνοντας ἐπήρειαν. ἡ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται• ἡ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου λύπη θάνατον κατεργάζεται. Quae enim secundum Deum tristitia est, poenitentiam in salutem stabilem operatur: saeculi autem tristitia mortem operatur. See St. John Cassian, Conference 6, ch. 3; Dilatato Corde 438-441: We must then believe that in things which are merely human there is no real good except virtue of soul alone, which leads us with unfeigned faith to things divine, and raises us constantly to adhere to that unchanging good. And on the other hand we ought not to call anything bad, except sin alone, which separates us from the good God, and unites us to the evil devil. Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to St. Luke, X,161 The Moralia (Commentary on Job) by St Gregory the Great, IX, 56. There are some who have lamentation but do not have humility; they weep in affliction, but in their very tears they are either arrogant towards their neighbour or rise up against God’s providence. Moralia, XII, 27. Moralia, XI, 13. Moralia, XX, 39. Ps 76 :4. I remembered God, and was delighted.

11. 12. 13.

14. 15.

16.

17.

Moralia, XVIII, 66. Moralia, XV, 68. Moralia, XXIII, 41. See St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, Q. 9, A. 4: Right judgment about creatures belongs properly to knowledge. Now it is through creatures that man’s aversion from God is occasioned, according to Wis 14:11: Creatures … are turned to an abomination … and a snare to the feet of the unwise, of those, namely, who do not judge aright about creatures, since they deem the perfect good to consist in them. Hence they sin by placing their last end in them, and lose the true good. It is by forming a right judgment of creatures that man becomes aware of the loss (of which they may be the occasion), which judgment he exercises through the gift of knowledge. Hence the beatitude of sorrow is said to correspond to the gift of knowledge. RB7;1Jn 4:18. Moralia, XV, 20: In the Gospel the Lord says: He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, streams of living waters will flow from his belly (Jn 7:38). The streams therefore are the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Charity is a stream, faith is a stream, hope is a stream... Moralia, XVI, 32. See also Ps 93:19: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul. St Gregory, homily on the Gospel of Pentecost for Matins, III nocturn 5.

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The Annunciation (ca.1426). Fra Angelico. Museo del Prado, Madrid..

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The Annuncifliff

AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN’S CONSENT An extract from Homily IV by St Bernard of Clairvaux

“But Mary said to the angel: How shall this bebefore that she was full of grace; how is it now said: done,becauseIknownotman?”Atfirstshekept“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the a prudent silence, for she was in doubt what this powerof theMostHighshallovershadowthee”? salutation might be, and she preferred-in humili Couldshebefilledwithgraceandnotpossessthe ty to give no answer rather than risk speaking Holy ofGhost, the giver of all grace? And if He is what she did not understand. Now, however, shealreadyinher,howisitpromisedthatHeshallcome wasstrengthenedandprepared,forwhilethe upon angel herinsomenewway?Wasitnottoexplain spoke externally God disposed her heart,this for to the usthattheangelsaidnotmerely inthee”, “ Lord was present with her when the angel said, butalso“ uponthee”?FortheHolyGhostwasin her “TheLordiswiththee.” before His coming by an abundant grace; now it is Thus animated to cast out fear by a spirit of declared that He will come upon her by the fullness faith,shesaidtotheangel:“Howshallthisbedone, of the more abundant grace which He will pour forIknownotman?”Shedoubtsnotthefact,but outuponher. only inquires about the manner of its accomplishBut how will she be able to receive a fresh inment. She says not “Will it be done?” but “How fusion of divine grace when she is already full of willthisbedone?”Asif shewouldsay:“Sincegrace? my Andif shecanreceivemore,howareweto Lordknows,andmyconsciencebearsmewitness, understand that she is already full of grace? Was that His handmaid has made a vow to know no itthathithertogracehadonlyfilledhermindand man,bywhatlawshallitpleaseHimtoworkthis soul,andthatthenewinfusionof itwastopenetrate wonder?If ImustbreakmyvowthatImaybring herbody,sothattheplenitudeof theDivinitywhich forthsuchaSon,Irejoiceonaccountof the hadSon, hithertodweltinherspiritually–asHedwells butIgrievebecauseof myvow.Nevertheless,in Hismanyof thesaints–mightbegintoabideinher will be done. If, however, as a Virgin I may bring corporallyasHehasneverdweltinanyothersaint? forth this Son – and it is not impossible ifYes, Hethis so iswhattheangelrevealstous.“TheHoly willsit–thenIshallknowthatHehathhadregardGhostshallcomeuponthee,andthepowerof the tothehumilityof Hishandmaid.How,then,shallMostHighshallovershadowthee.” thisbedone,forIknownotman?” “AndthereforealsotheHolyOnewhichshallbe “Andtheangel,answering,saidtoher:TheHoly bornof theeshallbecalledtheSonof God.”That Ghostshallcomeuponthee,andthepowerof isthe to say, “Since it is not of man, but of the Holy MostHighshallovershadowthee.”Ithadbeensaid Ghost, that you conceive, and since you conceive

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bythePowerof theMostHigh,thereforewhat mutual is joyof themothers,wondermightbeadded born of thee is holy, and shall be called the toSon wonder,miracletomiracle. of God.” In like manner, “He Who was born of Lest, however, it should be supposed that the the Father before all ages will also be called accomplishment your of thesemagnificentpromiseswas Son.Whatwasbornof theFathershallbethine;broughtaboutbytheangelwhodeclaresthem,he what shall be born of thee shall be His; yet there adds: “For no word shall be impossible to God.” willnotbetwoSons,butoneSon”and“therefore Asif hewouldsay:“InallthatIfaithfullypromise the Holy One that shall be born of thee shallIbe restnotonmyownpower,butonthepowerof calledtheSonof God.” HimWhosentme,fornowordshallbeimpossible “AndbeholdthycousinElizabeth,shealsohath withHim.”Howcouldanywordbeimpossibleto conceivedasoninheroldage.”Whywasit - neces HimWhomadeallthingsbytheWord?Andthisis sarytomakeknownthiseventtotheBlessedVirgin? striking–thattheangelexpresslysays wordno shall Hadshebeendoubtfulorincredulousof theangel’s beimpossible,not act.no Hesayswordbecause,as words?Farfromit.Wereadthatthehesitationof mencaneasilyspeakwhattheywish,eventhough Zacharywaspunishedbythissameangel,butwe theycannotafterwardscarryitintoezect,withthe donotreadthatMaryreceivedtheleastblame; same onor,rather,withincomparablygreaterfacility the contrary, we know that her faith was praised can God accomplish in act what they are able to byElizabeth:“Blessedartthouthathastbelieved, express in words; therefore with good reason “no because those things shall be accomplished that word is impossible with God”. For instance, the were spoken to thee by the Lord.” Her cousin’s Prophets by God’s power could foresee and pre happiness was announced to Mary that, miracle dict that a virgin and a barren woman would have beingaddedtomiracle,joymightbeheaped sons; upon but God alone, Who enabled the Prophets joy.Foritwasneedfulthatnoordinaryprevenient to foresee these events, could by His own power joyandburningloveshouldtakepossession fulfil of her what He had promised. Because, too, He is who, with the joy of the Holy Ghost, was soonInfinitePowerandInfiniteWisdom,“nowordshall to conceive the Son of the Father’s love. beAimpossible most with”Him. glad and most generous heart was alone capable Youhaveheard,OVirgin,theannouncement of containingsoexuberantaninfluxof sweetness of the great mystery; the means designed for its anddelight. fulfilment have been unfolded to you, each won Again,theannouncementmayhavebeenmade drous,eachrepletewithjoy.“Rejoice,Odaughter to Mary, in order that she might be cognisant, of Sion,andexultexceedingly,Ovirgindaughter not only of the Saviour’s coming, but also of ofHis Jerusalem.”(Zac.9:9)Andbecausetoyouhas precursors, and that, by preserving a faithful been re givenjoyandgladness,allowustohearfrom membrance of the order and circumstances of the your lips the answer and the good tidings which events,shemightlaterbebetterabletounfold wedesire, the thatthebonesthathavebeenhumbled truth of the Gospel to those who were to write and may rejoice. You have heard the fact, and have preach it. This was the rightful o{ce of herbelieved; who believe also in the means which have been fromthefirsthadbeenfullyinstructedbyHeaven explained in to you. You have heard that you are to allitssecretmysteries.OrwemaybelievethatMary conceiveandbringforthaSon,andthatitwillnot was told of Elizabeth’s happiness to give her, bethrough the thepowerof man,butbythevirtueof youngerof thetwo,theopportunityof tendering theHolyGhost. herlovingservicetohercousin,andthattheThe little angel awaits your reply, for it is time that unbornProphetmightozertohisyoungerLord heshould the returntoGod,Whosenthim.We,too, first-fruitsof hisministry,whilethejoyanddevotion are waiting, O Lady, for a word of mercy – we, of both infants being excited by the meeting and who are groaning under the sentence of condemnation.See,thepriceof oursalvationisozeredto 68

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“By the Eternal Word of God we were all created, and behold we die. By your short answer we shall be refreshed and recalled to life. Adam, with all his race … implores it of you. Abraham entreats you, David beseeches you. This is the object of the burning desires of the holy fathers, of your fathers, who are still dwelling in the region of the shades of death. Behold the entire human race prostrate at your feet in expectation.” you;if youconsent,weshallatoncebedelivered. Andrightly,foronyourworddependthe - conso BytheEternalWordof Godwewereallcreated, lationof thewretched,theredemption - of thecap andbeholdwedie.Byyourshortanswerweshall tive,thefreedomof thecondemned,thesalvation be refreshed and recalled to life. Adam,of withyour all entire race, of all the children of Adam. his race – Adam, a weeping exile from Paradise, Hasten,then,OLady,togiveyouranswer;hasten implores it of you. Abraham entreats you, David tospeakthewordsolongedforbyallonearth,in beseeches you. This is the object of the burning limbo,andinheaven.Yea,theKingandLordof all desiresof theholyfathers, yourfathers, of whoare things,Whohasgreatlydesiredyourbeauty,desires stilldwellingintheregionof theshades aseagerly of death.yourwordof consent,bywhichHehas Behold the entire human race prostrate at your feet purposed to save the world. He whom you have inexpectation. pleasedbyyoursilencewillnowbemoregratified byyourreply.

Apparition of the Virgin to St Bernard (ca.1485–1487). Filippino Lippi. Badia Fiorentina, Florence. S PR I NG 2 0 22

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“Be it done unto me concerning the Divine Word according to thy word. May the Word which was in the beginning with God be made flesh of my flesh according to thy word. May He, I entreat, be made to me, not a spoken word, to pass unheeded, but a word conceived – that is, clothed in flesh – which may remain.”

The Ghent Altarpiece (ca.1432): Panel with The Prophet Micheas and the Virgin Mary receiving the message from the Angel Gabriel. Jan van Eyck en Hubert van Eyck. St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent.

Hark!Hecallstoyoufromheaven:“mostbeau tiful among women, give me to hear your voice”. If youletHimhearyourvoice,Hewillenableyou toseeoursalvation.Andisnotthiswhatyouhave soughtfor,whatyouhaveprayedfornightandday with sighs and tears? Why, then, delay? Are you the happy one to whom it has been promised, or “look we for another”? Yes, you indeed are that most fortunate one. You are the promised virgin, the expected virgin, the much-longed-for virgin throughwhomyourholyfatherJacob,whenabout todie,restedhishopeof eternallife,saying:“Iwil lookforthysalvation,OLord.”(Gen.49:18) You, O Mary, are that virgin in whom and by whomGodHimself,ourKingbeforeall-ages,de termined to operate our salvation in the midst of theearth.Whydoyouhumblyexpectfromanother whatisozeredtoyou,andwillsoonbemanifested through yourself if you will but yield your consent and speak the word? Answer, then, quickly to the angel – yes, through the angel give your consent toyourGod.Answertheword,receivetheWord. Utteryours,conceivetheDivine.Speaktheword that is transitory, and embrace the Word that is everlasting. Why do you delay? Why are you fearful? Be lieve–confess–receive.Lethumility- putoncour age, and timidity confidence. It is certainly by no meansfittingthatvirginalsimplicityshouldforget prudence. Yet in this one case only the prudent virginneednotfearpresumption,because,though modestyshoneforthinhersilence,itisnowmore necessary that her devotion and obedience should berevealedbyherspeech. Open,BlessedVirgin,yourhearttofaith,your lipstocompliance,yourbosomtoyourCreator. CAL X M ARI AE

Behold,thedesiredof allnationsstandswe atthe maymeritbydevoutprayer.Thus,ourgracious gateandknocks.Oh,supposeHeweretopassby God, Who desires the salvation of all, as it were, while you delay! How would you begin again with extorts meritorious works from us, and while He sorrowtoseekHimwhomyoursoulloveth!Arise strengthens our will by His grace, He wishes that –run–open!Arisebyfaith,runbydevotion,open whatHegivesfreelyweshalllabourtoobtain. byacceptance. Mary speaks.“Beholdthehandmaid This the prudent Virgin understood when to of theLord,mayitbedoneuntomeaccording the prevenient to grace of a gratuitous promise she thyword.” joinedthemeritof herownprayer,saying:“Beit Humility is ever the close companion of divine doneuntomeaccordingtothyword.” grace, for “God resisteth the proud, and giveth BeitdoneuntomeconcerningtheDivineWord gracetothehumble”.(Jam4:6She ) answershum accordingtothyword.MaytheWordwhichwasin bly, therefore, that the throne of gracethe maybeginning be withGodbemadefleshof myflesh prepared. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. according ” tothyword.MayHe,Ientreat,bemade She is the chosen Mother of God, and she calls tome,notaspokenword,topassunheeded,buta herself Hishandmaid.Truly,itisnosmallsign word of conceived–thatis,clothedinflesh–which humility to preserve even the remembrance of the mayremain.MayHebetomenotonlyaudibleto virtue in presence of so great glory. It is my no ears, great but visible to my eyes, felt by my hands, perfection to be humble when we are despised; but borne in my arms. Let Him be to me not a mute it is a great and rare virtue to preserve humility in and written word traced with dumb signs on lifeless the midst of honours. If, deceived by my - appar parchments,butanIncarnate,livingWordvividly ent virtue, the Church has raised me, an insignif impressed in human form in my chaste womb by icantman,tosomesmalldignity,Godpermitting theoperationof theHolyGhost. it, either because of my own sins, or those ofBe myit done unto me as it has never hitherto been subjects, do I not immediately, forgettingdone my past tomortal,andnevershallbedonetoanyafter deficiencies,imaginemyself tobethatwhich mytime. men,“Goddiverselyandinmanywaysspoke who see not the heart, have reputed me to be? in Itimes past to the fathers by the prophets” (Heb hearken to fame, and attend not to conscience. 1:1)–tosome I inthehearingof theears,whileto forget that honour is rendered to virtue, and others takethe word of the Lord was made known in thevirtueforgrantedbecauseof thehonour, signs andand figures. Now in this solemn hour I pray soesteemmyself themoreholywhenIfindmyself that in my own being it may be done unto me acinanexaltedposition.Letuslistentothewords cording of tothyword. herwho,thoughchosentobetheMotherof God,Beitdoneuntome–notpreachedtomeinthe yetlaidnotasideherhumility.“Behold,”shefeeble says, strainsof humaneloquence,notshownforth “the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto tomeinthefiguresof earthlyrhetoric,notpainted meaccordingtothyword.” in the poetic dreams of a fervid imagination, but Fiat mihi (Be it done to me) Fiat . is a mark of breatheduponmeinsilence,inpersonIncarnate, desire, not of doubt. In saying, “Be it donein unto ahumanformveritablyreposingwithinme.In meaccordingtothyword,”sheexpresses - the His dis ownnaturetheWordneedednotchange,was position of one who longs to see theincapable ezect, not of change. Yet now graciously in me of onewhodoubtsitspossibility. Fiat may also be “mayitbedoneaccordingtothyword”.Beitdone understoodasawordof petition,fornoone universally prays forallmankind,butmostespeciallyfor unlesshebelieves,andhopestoobtain.Godwishes me–“Beitdoneuntomeaccordingtothyword.” tobeaskedforwhatHehaspromised,andperhaps ENDNOTE: promises many things which He had predetermined St Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons of St. Bernard on Advent & Christmas, compiled tobestow,inorderthatthepromisemayarouseour and translated at St Mary's Convent, York (Benziger Bros., 1909) p 60–72. devotion, and that what He intends to give gratis 1.

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