The Friends of St. John the Caregiver was included
in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops'
2007-2008
Respect Life program.
"At the other end of life, as well, the bonds of love
between generations are being stretched thin. Some doctors and
ethicists claim that patients with dementia or in a so-called
'persistent vegetative state' are no longer really persons, and that
families should deny them even the most basic forms of nourishment
and care. And yet, however weak and vulnerable such patients may
appear, they have the awesome power to inspire heroic, sacrificial
love from their family members and caregivers – a power that can
lead to the sanctification of those who care for them. . . .
"May we never tire of proclaiming the dignity and
worth of every human life. May we never tire of serving the
vulnerable and their caregivers with generous hearts. And may we
never cease to pray for the day when all people, and all societies,
will defend the life of every human from conception to natural
death."
Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
"As Catholics we know that the
truth of human life is infinitely greater than any narrow view that
dismisses some lives as disposable. 'We are not some casual and
meaningless product of evolution,' Pope Benedict pointed out at his
Inaugural Mass. 'Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each
of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.'
"The truth that human life has a purpose, given by its Creator, has
been bedrock of Western civilization. This conviction animated our
country’s founding documents. God's creative and sustaining love
for every human being is the one sure source of human dignity and
freedom. His love for us is the fundamental reason why every human
life must be valued and defended. It is not possible to maintain a
community of justice, freedom, and solidarity built on any other
foundation."
Statement of Cardinal William H. Keeler
for the Respect Life Sunday on October 2, 2005
