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ISSUE
2006
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1
/ 2006 |
>>
Message on the World Day of the Sick 2006
>> News from
Bali to Thailand
>> Grateful
Children Project be
expedited 2006
>> Statistics
of the HIV/AIDS Patients in Thailand |
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PROLIFE
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by
Fr. Siranont Sanpetch |
Life Promotion or
simply called Prolife is one of the Universal Church's movements
aimed at protection, promotion, care and at the service of life.
For the Church in Thailand life promotion is a constant policy
and has been carried out through several activities, being worthy
of the Church of Jesus Christ who had been at the service of
life, though there has not yet been an official set-up such
a movement per se. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand,
being aware of the importance of this matter, began to initiate
the said movement by assigning the Catholic Commission for Pastoral
Health Care to establish the Prolife Movement. Hence, the work
was begun and a committee has been set up to establish the structure
and plan to concretely carry out activities of the pastoral
care for the elderly.
How to start?
Today there is much talk on "human rights" and everybody
fully agrees that it is a valuable topic and that every human
being should have this legitimate right. The most basic of
all the rights is the "right to life", notwithstanding
that this right is being threatened and trashed violently,
especially with regards to the "birth" and the "death".
If asked: "how to start then?". The answer will
be easy: i.e. "we have to start from a strong determination
that we will not kill a human person, will not kill oneself
or cooperate with others to hurt/kill innocent people regardless
of their situations: heart broken, physically impaired or
despaired in life.
Thus, every human attempt to destroy life is not only contrary
to the will of God, but it also destroys human dignity. "Abortion"
is homicide before a person is born. It is the same criminal
act as killing an infant or an embryo. Whether helping others
to commit suicide, mercy killing and hurting innocent people
in the wars or civil unrest events are all to be condemned.
Although we first mention
about violence arisen from the policy and acts detrimental
toward death such as 'abortion', yet we should not overlook
the omission which does not respect human beings in other
aspects. So, in our planning we should deeply consider the
correlation between this problem in conjunction with other
related issues, because all things related to life are correlated.
Example: any society permitting abortion under the law must
be unavoidably considered to do away with the human rights
in other aspects as well. Therefore, life protection of the
unborn by way of law and practice will be beneficial to all,
not only to the unborn.
This is the reason
why we are interested in the harm threatening human life,
such as abortion which tends to be legalized in several countries.
The legalization may further extend to the 'euthanesia' as
well.
In the "Pastoral Planning for life promotion: Prolife
Campaign" being drafted by the current committee an attempt
has been made to renew the Christian vocation and at the same
time trying to create the network with other institutions
both the State and Church in advocating for respect and protection
of the human rights as willed by God as stated in the Encyclical
Evangelium Vitae (n. 7) "We are a people of life and
a people for life". It is our hope and future expectation
that a special attention in the respect and protection of
human rights will be safeguarded, especially with regard to
the innocent unborn, the disabled, the sick or the dying persons.
We will try our level best to see to it that these people
will receive respect and rights at the highest level.
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Recommended Activities
Pastoral Planning for Life Promotion : Prolife Campaign should
incorporate all resources of the Church be it personnel, services
and institutions in order to mobilize new moves in 5 strategies:
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1. |
Provide Information
and Special education to the Public to really realize the sacredness
and rights of all human beings especially right of the innocent
unborn. Doing otherwise would be both immoral and criminal.
It is done with intention, no matter whether it is carried out
before the baby is born or a person is on the threshold of death.
The mission of the Church is to be witness of love of the Father
and to provide pastoral care for humanity. |
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2. |
Provide Pastoral Care
to women having the problem with pregnancy, those who used to
be involved in the abortion performance, the disabled, the dependent
weaklings, the terminal patients, their families and carers,
the bereaved relatives and the prisoners with death penalty. |
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3. |
Policy for the Common
Good to lobby for the enactment of law protecting human rights
especially of the unborn and the despaired people wishing to
end their life with suicide. There should be an elective which
is consonant with morality and not the abortion or suicide. |
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4. |
Prayers and Liturgy
to persuade the faithful to actively participate in the sacramental
celebrations of the Church especially in the community prayers
or in personal meditations with faith that human life does not
end in this world but will last eternally with the real love
in the next world. |
This
planning is the result of the meeting at the national level
of the country leaders, priests, deacons, religious workers,
catechists and laity in trying to find ways of cooperation of
all the institutions of the Catholic Church.
This dialogue with leaders of other faiths has been carried
out regularly including consultation with the moralists.
We recommend
the promotion of interior life of the family, within the parish,
the communities as well all the institutions. We also request
knowledgeable Catholics working in the academic field and research
to help providing pastoral care, to watch out and to protect
all and every life.
It is of vital
importance to seek support in the form of networking from the
concerned individuals and organizations at every level: national,
regional, state, parochial, diocesan, etc., to represent their
groups in helping the life of our fellow human beings, because
we are all laborers for God with the mandate of promoting and
respecting the dignity of "humanity".
The main key for the success
of this pastoral plan is participation of the laity. Pope John
Paul II in his address to the Church in America says: "The
fact that the Church and her mission still existing is because
of the varied gifts and different movements of the laity"
(cf. Synod for America, proposition No. 55). Further more, the
endeavors of the laity within the community should be looked
after and supported by the Bishop, priests, deacons, religious
and all who call themselves the evangelizers.
To make the life more respected and better felt, the protest
against abortion and mercy killing better appreciated, it is
necessary to provide technical information to 2 groups of people:
i.e. the Catholic community itself and the general public. |
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© CHC
Address : 122/11Nonsi
14 Rd, Yannawa,Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Tel. / Fax. 66 2 681 5857
e-mail : chc@cbct.net
Update
March 2011
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