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From Archbishop Donoghue|
Remarks at the Georgia State Capitol |
Dear Friends, On a day like today it is easy to understand the old saying, “We are one in the Spirit,” and to know what it means. Today we are here because we believe in one thing which links all our faiths, whether we are Muslim, Jew, Christian - for we believe that life is a gift, that comes to us from a higher place, and that no one has the right to take it away from us, except that being from where it came, be that God on High, or be it simply Nature and Nature’s law. The Spirit of this supreme truth makes of us today, brothers and sisters, and united in the defense of what we believe. And would it were enough that our united strength could work miracles - for then, we could go home at the end of this convocation, confident that tomorrow all our trials would be over, and our dreams for the protection of life all realized overnight. But unfortunately, our strength alone is not enough - for in the intricacies of our human nature, and in the mystery of what many of us believe God has built into our beings - we have become a people not just united in feeling about our freedom, but united as well under the protection of the law. Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is the crux of what draws us together today - for we would protest what we consider an unjust law - a law that not only fails to protect, but that also threatens to tear asunder the fabric of this nation. The world will note the passion of our demonstration today - you may be assured that it will figure prominently on all of this evening’s news broadcasts - but these news broadcasts will just as equally feature tonight, the passion of those who are here today to oppose us, those who are demonstrating for what they call the “right to choose,” the right to abort, the right to commit unjustifiable murder. For the evening news does not necessarily present what is just and right, but rather, a quote-unquote “balanced view” of what is happening. Now that is fine - everybody wants to see their own viewpoint represented, and in a free economy, what sells, gets on the evening news. But my dear friends, I am here today to tell you that even though our politician friends may sometimes think so, it is not what gets on the evening news that decides what our laws shall be - it is the voice of reason, the voice of passionate and thoughtful commitment, the voice of patient but never-tiring advocacy, the voice of thousands upon thousands of believers in life, it is the voice of us - our voice - and that is the voice which will make the difference in what comes to be in this country of ours - and in how human life shall be respected and protected in this country of ours. But, even as that voice is heard clearly today, I still have fear in my heart, a fear that you may share - For we know all too well what happens in this country when the people are drawn up against a line, and one group says to the other, “We will have it our way.” (Two hundred years ago, along the coasts, and up the rivers of this our home state of Georgia, men hunted down one another, men who had been friends, and perhaps even brothers - they hunted one another down - some for the King and his rule, and some for liberty and self-rule. They hunted one another down, and on both sides, they died to decide what would be the outcome of their opposing beliefs. And not a hundred years after that, again, the people of this country lined up, one against the other, to fight about what we would believe, and what our laws would be, and again, it was about how people should be free, free to determine their own lives, in conjunction, in partnership, but never again as master and slave. And before that disagreement was all over, a quarter of a million soldiers - two hundred and fifty thousand men had died on the field, to decide once again, the issue of how this country would treat human life, and how it would protect the dignity of human beings. And now another century has passed, and) you can understand perhaps why I have fear in my heart - for how can I - how can we, not ask ourselves, “What is going to happen? - is this conflict going to go on and on forever? - or is the line now being drawn, and will we - will our children have to face death in order to decide the issue once again? Indeed, my friends, these are fearful questions, and I am glad there are so many here today, joined in friendship, so that we may bear the weight of these questions together. For in recent days, and in recent years, we have seen too many occasions when advocates for life may have used means beyond those acceptable to us, to try and force the outcome of this issue before us. And these acts of violence, these bombings speak of war, of destruction, and of everything which is abhorrent to us, and to all civilized peoples. But I believe in peace, and I know you join me in that belief, and because we believe in the spirit of truth, and the power of the truth to persuade and to prevail, I ask you now to join me in making certain resolutions - before God, before heaven, and before the citizens of this country and the whole world. First, let us resolve never to capitulate to our weaker natures, to those parts of us which seek violent and sudden conclusions for the problems that beset us. For we know that anger and violence beget only anger and violence, and we believe that the hatred of those who destroy life will only be exhausted by the patience of those who endure that awful hatred - in other words, this battle will be won by our patience, not our anger, and by our endurance, not our violent reaction. And second, let us mark this infamous anniversary, the 24th of Roe vs. Wade, by turning it to our good purpose - by resolving never to tire in our efforts to promote just and proper laws, laws that protect all life and liberty - the life and liberty of man before his government, the life and liberty of man before his fellow-man, and the life and liberty of that most innocent and deserving of all creatures, the life and liberty of the infant in the mother’s womb. Let us redouble our efforts - let us make know to every senator, every congressman, everyone who has anything at all to do with the laws that we accept, the way we feel about life, and our hatred and absolute rejection of any protection for abortion, for euthanasia, and for all acts of violence against life. Finally, I would ask you to join me in this prayer, in this supplication, that I make on our behalf, and on behalf of the millions of innocent victims who have already fallen to this worst scourge that our country has ever faced - that the Source of the Spirit which unites us here, will give us, today, tomorrow, and for whatever breadth of years is required, the strength to endure, and the strength to overcome. For ours is a tremendous task - we cannot finish it alone - but finished it will be - and one day, people will look back and wonder in amazement how the citizens of this country ever sank to such a low point - and they will wonder with equal amazement how the God of truth brought them back to their senses. This is our vision and our prayer - may God grant that it come true. + |