Pope Francis: talks about the value of human life - Annunciation of the Lord 25.03.20 Pope Francis 25.03.20 General Audience, Library of the Apostolic Palace Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Luke 1: 26-38 Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! Twenty-five years ago, on this same date of 25 March, which in the Church is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, St. John Paul II promulgated the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, on the value and inviolability of human life. The link between the Annunciation and the "Gospel of Life" is close and deep, as St. John Paul pointed out in his encyclical. Today, we find ourselves reviving this teaching in the context of a pandemic that threatens human life and the world economy. A situation that makes the words with which the encyclical begins feel even more challenging. Here they are: "The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Welcomed by the Church every day with love, it must be proclaimed with courageous fidelity as a good news story to people of all ages and cultures" (No. 1). Like any evangelical proclamation, this one must be witnessed first and foremost. And I think with gratitude of the silent testimony of so many people who, in various ways, are caring for the sick, the elderly, those who are alone and most destitute. They live the Gospel of life, like Mary who, after accepting the angel's announcement, went to help her cousin Elizabeth who needed her. Every human being is called by God to enjoy the fullness of life; and being entrusted to the maternal care of the Church, every threat to dignity and human life cannot fail to affect the her heart, in her maternal "womb". The defence of life for the Church is not an ideology, it is a reality, a human reality that involves all Christians, precisely because they are Christians and because they are human. Unfortunately, the threats against people's dignity and lives continue even in this age of ours, which is the age of universal human rights; on the contrary, we are faced with new threats and new slavery, and legislation does not always protect the weakest and most vulnerable human life. Dear brothers and sisters, every human life, unique and unrepeatable, has value in itself, it is invaluable. This must always be proclaimed again, with the courage of the word and the courage of actions. This calls for solidarity and fraternal love for the great human family and for each of its members. |