Catholic Fire

“(E)every child comes from a man and a woman, and has a right, a natural human right, to know and be known by, to love and be loved by, their own mother and father.” “Love is the answer. But love in the truth. The truth is that every child comes from a mother and a father, and to deliberate(ly) deprive a child of knowing and being loved by his or her mother and father is an outright injustice. That is our very nature, and no law can change it.” ~  Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco speaking at the  “March for Marriage” on June 19, 2014 as quoted in   Archbishop Cordileone calls for a 'civilization of truth and love'  on Catholic News Agency. Image Source: CNA

Francis Beckwith, an American Catholic philosopher, discusses how natural law arguments can be used to defend human life.

VATICAN CITY, 11 DEC 2008, (VIS) - Yesterday in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican a concert organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was given with the Pope in attendance. The Holy Father affirmed that "the dignity of all persons is only truly guaranteed when all the fundamental rights are recognized, defended, and promoted". Continuing he said that "the Church has always emphasized that the fundamental rights, beyond their various formulations and the distinct weight that they might have in the cultural sphere, are a universal given, since they form part of the very nature of humanity. Natural law, inscribed by the Creator in human consciousness, is the common denominator of all persons and all people; it is a universal guide that all can understand and in virtue of which all can understand themselves". Benedict XVI stressed that "human rights are ultimately base...

The good Cardinal talks about self-control, our necessary cooperation with God and respect for natural law as a logical step for all people of good will as he reflects some more on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.