1 The expression Gospel of life is not found as such in sacred Scripture. But it does correspond to an essen-tial dimension of the biblical message. [Back]
2 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, 22. [Back]
3 Cf. John Paul II, encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 10 (March 4, 1979): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 71 (1979), 275. [Back]
6 Cf. Letter to the World's Bishops on the Gospel of Life (May 19, 1991): Insegnamenti XIV, 1 (1991), 1293-1296. [Back]
8 Letter to Families Gratissimam Sane, 4 (Feb. 2, 1994): AAS 86 (1994), 871. [Back]
9 John Paul II, encyclical Centesimus Annus, 39 (May 1, 1991): AAS 83 (1991), 842. [Back]
11 Cf. St. Ambrose, De Noe, 26:94-96: Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum [CSEL], 32, 480- 481. [Back]
12 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1867 and 2268. [Back]
13 De Cain et Abel, II, 10, 38: CSEL, 32, 408. [Back]
14 Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation Donum Vitae: AAS 80 (1988), 70-102. [Back]
15 Address during the prayer vigil for the eighth World Youth Day, Denver, II, 3 (Aug. 14, 1993): AAS 86 (1994), 419. [Back]
16 John Paul II, Address to study conference on "The Right to Life in Europe" (Dec. 18, 1987): Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), 1446- 1447. [Back]
17 Gaudium et Spes, 36. [Back]
19 Cf. St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, 13, 23: Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina [CCL], 143A, 683. [Back]
20 Redemptor Hominis, 10. [Back]
21 Gaudium et Spes, 50. [Back]
22 Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 4. [Back]
23 "Gloria Dei vivens homo": Adversus Haereses, IV, 20, 7: Sources Chretienne [SCh], 100/2, 648-649. [Back]
24 Gaudium et Spes, 12. [Back]
26 Exameron, VI, 75-76: CSEL 32, 260-261. [Back]
27 "Vita autem hominis visio Dei": Adversus Haereses, IV, 20, 7. [Back]
28 Cf. Centesimus Annus, 38. [Back]
29 John Paul II, encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34 (Dec. 30, 1987): AAS 80 (1988), 560. [Back]
30 Gaudium et Spes, 50. [Back]
31 Letter to Families, 9; cf. Pius XII, encyclical Humani Generis (Aug. 12, 1950): AAS 42 (1950), 574. [Back]
32 "Anima enim a Deo immediate creari catholica fides nos retinere iubet": Humani Generis, p. 575. [Back]
33 Gaudium et Spes, 50; cf. John Paul II, postsynodal apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 28 (Nov. 22, 1981): AAS 74 (1982), 114. [Back]
34 Homilies, II, 1; Corpus Christianorum, Series Graeca [CCSG], 3, 39. [Back]
35 See, for example, Pss. 22:10-11; 71:6; 139:13-14 [Back]
36 Expositio Evangelii Secundum Lucam, II, 22-23: CCL, 14, 40-41. [Back]
37 St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians, 7, 2: Patres Apostolici [PA], ed. F.X. Funk, II, 82. [Back]
38 De Hominis Opificio, 4: Patrologia Graeca [PG] 44, 136. [Back]
39 Cf. St. John Damascene, De Fide Orthodoxa, 2, 12: PG 94, 920,922, quoted in St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, Prologue. [Back]
40 Paul VI, encyclical Humanae Vitae, 13 (July 25, 1968): AAS 60 (1968), 489. [Back]
41 Donum Vitae, Introduction, 5; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258. [Back]
42 Didache, I, 1; II, 1-2; V, 1 and 3: PA, I, 2-3, 6-9, 14-17; cf. Letter of Pseudo-Barnabas, XIX, 5: PA, 90- 93. [Back]
43 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2263-6629; cf. also Catechism of the Council of Trent, 327-332. [Back]
44 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2265. [Back]
45 Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 64, a. 7; St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Theologia Moralis, 1, III,; tr. 4, c. 1, dub. 3. [Back]
46 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2266. [Back]
491 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 12. [Back]
50 Gaudium et Spes, 27. [Back]
52 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia Jura et Bona, II (May 5, 1980): AAS 72 (1980), 546. [Back]
53 John Paul II, encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 96 (Aug. 6, 1993): AAS 85 (1993), 1209. [Back]
54 Gaudium et Spes, 51: "Abortus necnon infanticidium nefanda sunt crimina." [Back]
55 Cf. John Paul II, apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, 14 (Aug. 15, 1988): AAS 80 (1988), 1686. [Back]
57 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, 12-13 (Nov. 18, 1974): AAS 66 (1974), 738. [Back]
60 Hence the prophet Jeremiah: "The word of the Lord came to me saying: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations"' (I :4-5). The psalmist, for his part, addresses the Lord in these words: "Upon you I have leaned from my birth; you are he who took me from my mother's womb" (Ps. 71:6; cf. Is. 46:3; Jb 10:8-12; Ps.22:10-11). So too the evangelist Luke -- in the magnificent episode of the meeting of the two mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, and their two sons, John the Baptist and Jesus, still hidden in their mothers' wombs (cf. 1:39-45) -- emphasizes how even before their birth the two little ones are able to communicate: The child recognizes the coming of the Child and leaps for joy. [Back]
61 Cf. Declaration on Procured Abortion, 7. [Back]
62 "You shall not kill a child by abortion nor shall you kill it once it is born": V, 2. [Back]
63 Apologia on Behalf of the Christians, 35: PG 6, 969. [Back]
64 Apologeticum, IX, 8: CSEL 69, 24. [Back]
65 Cf. encyclical Casti Connubii, II (Dec. 31, 1930): AAS 22 (1930), 562-592. [Back]
66 Address to the Biomedical Association San Luca (Nov. 12, 1944): Discorsi e Radiomessagi, Vl (1944- 1945), 191; cf. Address to the Italian Catholic Union of Midwives, 2 (Oct. 29, 1951): AAS 43 (1951), 838. [Back]
67 Encyclical Mater et Magistra, 3 (May 15, 1961): AAS 53 (1961), 447. [Back]
68 Gaudium et Spes, 51. [Back]
70 Canon 1398; cf. Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, 1450.2. [Back]
71 Canon 1329; also Eastern code, 1417. [Back]
72 Cf. Address to the National Congress of Italian Jurists (Dec. 9, 1972): AAS 64 (1972), 777; Humanae Vitae, 14. [Back]
75 Charter of the Rights of the Family, 4b (Oct. 22, 1983): Vatican Polyglot Press, 1983. [Back]
76 Declaration on Euthanasia, II. [Back]
79 Pius XII, Address to an International Group of Physicians, III (Feb. 24, 1957): AAS 49 (1957), 147; cf. Declaration on Euthanasia, III. [Back]
80 Address to an International Group of Physicians, III. [Back]
81 Cf. ibid.; Congregation of the Holy Office, Decretum de Directa Insontium Occisione (Dec. 2, 1940): AAS 32 (1940), 553-554; Paul VI, message to French television: "Every Life Is Sacred" (Jan. 27, 1971): Insegnamenti IX (1971), 5758; Address to the International College of Surgeons (June 1, 1972): AAS 64 (1972), 432-436; Gaudium et Spes, 27. [Back]
83 Cf. St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei I, 20: CCL 47, 22; St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 6, a. 5. [Back]
84 Declaration on Euthanasia, I; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2281-2283. [Back]
85 Ep 204, 5: CSEL 57, 320. [Back]
86 Gaudium et Spes, 18. [Back]
87 Cf. John Paul II, apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris, 14-24 (Feb. 11, 1984): AAS 76 (1984), 214-234. [Back]
88 Cf. Centesimus Annus, 46; Pius XII, Christmas radio message (Dec. 24, 1944): AAS 37 (1945), 10-20. [Back]
89 Veritatis Splendor, 97 and 99. [Back]
91 Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 7. [Back]
92 Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 96, a. 2. [Back]
93 Dignitatis Humanae, 7. [Back]
94 Encyclical Pacem in Terris, II (April 11, 1963): AAS 55 (1963), 273-274. The internal quote is from Pius XII, radio message of Pentecost 1941 (June 1, 1941): AAS 33 (1941), 200. On this topic the encyclical cites: Pius XI, encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (March 14, 1937): AAS 29 (1937), 159; encyclical Divini Redemptoris, III (March 19, 1937): AAS 29 (1937), 79; Pius XII, Christmas radio message (Dec. 24, 1942): AAS 35 (1943), 9-24. [Back]
95 Pacem in Terris, II. [Back]
96 Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 93, a. 3, ad 2um. [Back]
97 Ibid., I-II, q. 95, a. 2. Aquinas quotes St. Augustine: "Non videtur esse lex, quae iusta non fuerit," De Libero Arbitrio, I, 5, 11: PL 32, 1227. [Back]
98 Declaration on Procured Abortion, 22. [Back]
99 Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1753-1755; Veritatis Splendor, 81-82. [Back]
100 In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus, 41, 10: CCL 36, 363; cf. Veritatis Splendor, 13. [Back]
101 Apostolic exhortation Evangelli Nuntiandi, 14 (Dec. 8, 1975): AAS 68 (1976), 13. [Back]
102 Cf. Roman Missal, prayer of the celebrant before communion. [Back]
103 Cf. St. Irenaeus: "Omnem novitatem attulit, semetipsum afferens, qui fuerat annuntiatus," Adversus Haereses: IV, 34, 1. [Back]
104 Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, "Peccator inveterascit, recedens a novitate Christi," In Psalmos Daividis Lectura: 6, 5. [Back]
105 De Beatitudinibus, Oratio VII: PG 44, [Back]
106 Veritatis Splendor, 116. [Back]
107 Cf. Centesimus Annus, 37. [Back]
108 Cf. Message for Christmas 1967: AAS 60 (1968), 40. [Back]
109 Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Divine Names, 6, 1-3: PG 3, 856-857. [Back]
110 Paul VI, Pensiero alla Morte, Istituto Paolo VI, Brescia, 1988, 24. [Back]
111 John Paul II, Homily for the Beatification of Isidore Bakanja, Elisabetta Canori Mora and Gianna Beretta Molla (April 24, 1994): L'Osservatore Romano, April 25-26, 1994, 5. [Back]
113 In Matthaeum, Hom. L, 3: PG 58, 508. [Back]
114 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2372. [Back]
115 John Paul II, Address to the Fourth General Conference of Latin American Bishops in Santo Domingo, 15 (Oct. 12, 1992): AAS 85 (1993), 819. [Back]
116 Cf. Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 12; Gaudium et Spes, 90. [Back]
117 Familiaris Consortio, 17. Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 50. [Back]
118 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 50. [Back]
119 Centesimus Annus, 39. [Back]
120 John Paul II, Address to participants in the seventh Symposium of European Bishops on the theme of "Contemporary Attitudes Toward Life and Death: A Challenge for Evangelization," 5 (Oct. 17,1989): Insegnamenti XI1, 2 (1989), 945. Children are presented in the biblical tradition precisely as God's gift (cf. Ps. 127:3) and as a sign of his blessing on those who walk in his ways (cf. Ps. 128:3-4). [Back]
121 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38. [Back]
122 Familiaris Consortio, 86. [Back]
123 Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18. [Back]
125 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 24. [Back]
126 Cf. Centesimus Annus, 17; Veritatis Splendor, 95-101. [Back]
127 Centesimus Annus, 24. [Back]
128 Familiaris Consortio, 37. [Back]
129 Letter establishing the World Day of the Sick, 2 (May 13, 1992): Insegnamenti XV, 1 (1992), 1410. [Back]
130 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, 35; Paul VI, encyclical Populorum Progressio, 15 ( March 26, 1967): AAS 59 (1967), 265. [Back]
131 Cf. Letter to Families 13. Gratissimam sane [Back]
132 John Paul II, motu proprio Vitae Mysterium, 4 (Feb. 11, 1994): AAS 86 (1994), 386-387. [Back]
133 Closing Messages of the Council (Dec. 8, 1965): To Women. [Back]
134 Mulieris Dignitatem, 18. [Back]
135 Letter to Families, 5. [Back]
136 Address to study conference on "The Right to Life in Europe." Insegnamenti [Back]
137 Message for the 1977 World Day of Peace: AAS 68 (1976), 711-712. [Back]
138 Blessed Guerric of Igny, In Assumptione B. Mariae, Sermo I, 2: PL 185, 188. [Back]
140 Gaudium et Spes, 22. [Back]
Table of Contents | Introduction, 1, 2, 3, 4, Conclusion | References