WRITINGS ON CONSISTENT LIFE ETHIC
A Consistent Ethic of Life: An American-Catholic Dialogue
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
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“Precisely because life is sacred, the taking of even one human life is a momentous event.”
This foundational lecture/document is only available in journal format behind paywalls. One option is here.
Thoughts on this lecture many years later in a panel at Fordham in 2018.
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The Consistent Ethic of Life
David Gushee
Christian Ethics Today, January 3, 2011
The article was originally delivered for the Staley Lectures at Cumberland College in April, 2000.
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"If life is what you are concerned about... then any assault on life, any threat to the dignity of life, ought to merit your moral concern."
Retrieving a Consistent Pro-Life Ethic
David Gushee
Baptist News Global, March 6, 2007
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"Every life means every life, without exception... Therefore, I oppose abortion, euthanasia, war, murder, poverty, abuse, lack of adequate health care, torture, cruelty, degradation and the death penalty."
Statement on Abortion
Catholic Peace Fellowship
Signed Statement, June 28, 1974
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"We insist that these positions are all of one piece, stemming from what Albert Schweitzer called, “reverence for life,” and the consequent obligation to oppose any policy or practice which would give one human being the right to determine whether or not another shall be permitted to live."
US Shouldn't Fight Violence With Violence
Stephen Zunes
The Baltimore Sun, September 12, 2001 (updated January 30, 2019)
"Instead of lashing out against perceived hostile communities, we need to recognize that America's greatest strength is not in our weapons of destruction, but the fortitude and caring of its people."
Achieving Peace in the Abortion War
Rachel MacNair
Achieving Peace in the Abortion War, 2008
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"The social and psychological dynamics of performing and defending abortions offer many opportunities for stopping widespread feticide. The more we understand these, the more effective we can be as peacemakers in the abortion war." (See full book at your favorite retailer.)
Arguing with Pro-Choicers
Richard Stith
First Things, November 4, 2006
"In other words, those who hold both to the truth of human development and to the truth of universal human dignity will seek to respect life from conception."
Comments Regarding the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the US
HH The Dalai Lama
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"If we are seriously interested in peace, we must seek to achieve it through peaceful and non-violent means. "
The Failure of War
Wendell Berry
YES, November 6, 2001
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"We cling to the hopeless paradox of making peace by making war. Which is to say that we cling in our public life to a brutal hypocrisy."
If Our Leaders Had Seen 9/11 as a Crime Against Humanity
Lowell O. Erdahl (1931-2021)
"Reacting to 9/11, our leaders declared us at war and took the road more traveled by -- the road of a primarily military and essentially unilateral response. Billions were immediately added to the military budget and we began speeding down the road of violence and war. "
This document is no longer available on the internet. See his books for more on topic esp:
Pro-Life/Pro-Peace: Life Affirming Alternatives to Abortion, War, Mercy-Killing and the Death Penalty
This author is quoted by Al Tizon, of Member Group Christians for Social Action, April 8, 2015 in this summary of life and peace issues.
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Finding Renewal: Why the Pro-Life Movement Should Return To Its Roots
James R. Kelly
America, February 16, 2009
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"The fundamental insight, that objections to abortion and objections to war are rooted in the same moral principles, was present at the very beginning of the modern anti-abortion movement"
Beneath the Intractable Political Surface: How and Why the Terms of the Abortion Controversy Keep Changing
James R. Kelly
Speech delivered at Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House, Washington, DC, June 4, 2010
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"When abortion is characterized as the killing of the unborn, the issue inevitably becomes entwined with just war theory."
Reflections on Personal Discernment: The Abortion Issue
Bill Samuel
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"The position of these friends was what has come to be known as the 'seamless garment' or 'consistency' perspective... all taking of human life was wrong."
The Nightmares of Choice: The Psychological Effects of Performing Abortions
Rachel MacNair
Touchstone Magazine, September 2003
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“If abortion is the taking of a human life, some or many of those who perform abortions should suffer certain psychological consequences associated with the trauma caused by hurting others.”
My Personal Journey on Abortion
Rachel MacNair
Friends Journal, February 1, 2010
“When violence is presented as a quick way to solve problems, this is not merely unethical but mistaken in premise. Violence generally ends up causing more problems than it solves.”
