1. True life

If we bear in mind the fact that the word "life" and its derivatives appear about 1,500 times in Sacred Scripture we already have a basis for understanding just how important the subject of life is in the Sacred Books. Of course we must admit that the meaning of the word "life" varies and gradually acquires depth throughout the course of Revelation. If we tried to eliminate the concept of "life" and references to it from Scripture, the whole of biblical literature would lose its meaning and focus. From the creation account in the Book of Genesis, to the last page of Revelation, "life" is a key concept, central to understanding God's plan. It could even be stated that the fundamental idea of "salvation" implies the idea of "life", for when we say that someone is saved, we mean that he has been freed from death so that he may live.

I find the words of the prologue to John's Gospel particularly enlightening: "In him was life, and this life was the light of men" (Jn 1:4). These words are closely connected with others that are also proclaimed in John's Gospel: "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10) and "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). Life is therefore an essential attribute of me Word of God made man, one of his "names". This life is light (cf. Jn 1:5-9) and it is in total contradiction to the "darkness" which is the work of Satan, who "was a murderer from the beginning" (Jn 8:44), because he incited man to sin, and with sin death entered the world (cf. Ram 5:12). The profound relationship that exists between truth and life is evident in the words of the Apostle Peter, spoken at that critical moment aRer the multiplication of the loaves, when many of those who had been until then Jesus' disciples drew back (cf. Jn 6:66): "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68). Jesus has the words of life. His word is life because it is the true word, a word which speaks the truth, that is, that leads man to his identity, to his True identity", to what St Augustine would call his "vere esse". Jesus is the truth and this is why he is life. There cannot be true life in darkness and lying because they generate slavery: only truth sets man free (cf. Jn 8:32), and freedom is the state that belongs to the children of God (Rom 8:21), that freedom which is the fruit of the redemption Christ gained for us (cf. Gal 4:31). It is clear that this is true freedom, the freedom exercised by doing good, which is not used to cloak vice (cf. 1 Pt 2:16).

The Encyclical "Evangelium vitae" should be viewed in the perspective of the gift of life which man received from God. The very words of its title "Gospel" and "life", "Gospel of life", clearly indicate how its purpose is to pinpoint, stress and confirm the teaching of the Word of God regarding the a Good News", the "joyous proclamation" of the life that Christ came to bring us, because he is life. Whoever understands this, not only can but must, like the Apostle Paul, say with profound conviction: "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). These teachings of Scripture were summarized in the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes (cf. n. 18).

2. Meanings of the word "life"

The word "life" can have various connotations or meanings. We speak of "biological life" to designate a living body, capable of carrying out the different vital functions: nutrition, metabolism, growth, reproduction. We speak of "cultural life" in reference to the development and perception of values, for the most part aesthetic. We speak of "social life" to indicate the various kinds of relationship that a man who lives in a group or a community may establish. We speak of "intellectual life" when we wish to indicate the cognitive activity that goes beyond the purely sensory level and reflects on the different problems man must face. We speak of "moral life" when we refer to human activity inasmuch as it agrees or not with its "true identity". This connotation is very close to that of "spiritual life", whose criterion of judgement is to be found in that type of vitality, knowledge and action that goes beyond the purely instinctual or animal level. Thus, when we use the word "life" we must ask ourselves: which life are we talking about? One meaning of the word "life" has yet to be pointed out, the most important, which includes all the others: the concept of "eternal life", "life in Christ", "life in the Spirit". This concept is "comprehensive" because it does not oppose those we have already mentioned or others we could add; rather it summarizes them, gives them their proper dimension and places them in the perspective of man's sole and definitive end: life in communion win God, supernatural life, divine life eternal life.

A human existence that rejects life in communion with God is tragically lost and misguided. A human existence that does not explicitly recognize the call inherent in his own being to live in communion with God finds itself in darkness, lacking a vital element in order to understand the cause and purpose of its being. Life in God and for God is the necessary standard for measuring, evaluating and possibly correcting the activities or connotations which were indicated above by the various adjectives applied to the word "life". This is what the Apostle Paul vigorously maintains when he writes to the Christians in Rome, telling them that "none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord" (Rom 14:7-8). By taking as its main and supreme meaning that of an existence consciously led with a view to communion with God, this comprehensive perspective of life is what confers truth, dignity and joy on all expressions of life. In the case in which a form of life, whether permanent or temporary, is irreparably in contrast with "life for God", it is no longer a form of "life" but actually a form of death. On the contrary, physical death suffered for love of God, or because what is incompatible with this love is rejected, is true life: martyrdom is the glorious gateway leading to eternal life. This is the context in which we must place the Encyclical Evangelium vitae. It would be a doctrinal reduction emphasize only those aspects of the papal document that refer to the preservation and promotion of physical and other forms of life while forgetting that its focal point is life in God as a gift of God and as a vocation to live now and forever in communion with him. Everything else derives from this: although non-believers would in any case have sound rational arguments—perhaps not as enlightened as those faith provides—for being committed to defending life.

3. Solemn doctrinal pronouncements

In this regard three texts of me Encyclical Evangelium vitae are particularly interesting.

The first is: "Therefore, by me authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. This doctrine, based upon that unwritten law which man, in the light of reason, finds in his own heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15), is reaffirmed by Sacred Scripture, transmitted by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium" (n. 57). It goes on to say that "the deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of his life is always morally evil and can never be licit either as an end in itself or as a means to a good end" (ibid.).

The particularly strong and decisive wording of this doctrinal principle draws our attention. It cannot be said that this is an "ex cathedra" formulation, which brings into play the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff in matters of faith and morals, in conformity with the dogma defined by the First Vatican Council. It would, however, be a very grave error to think that this doctrinal pronouncement is not binding. Without defining a new dogma, the Pope here confirms a universally held doctrine taught and defended by the Church, both through her Magisterium and through the consensus of the Catholic faithful. It is however a pronouncement that expresses the ordinary, constant and unanimous Magisterium of the Episcopal College and is therefore not to be modified. The "theological note" that should be conferred on this pronouncement is that of "de fide catholica", and those who reject it would incur "an error with regard to the faith".

The meaning of this first text is general: it covers everything that can be labeled as "murder".

The second text is the following: "By the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, in communion with the Bishops — who on various occasions have condemned abortion and who in the aforementioned consultation albeit dispersed throughout the world, have shown unanimous agreement concerning this doctrine — I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium" (n. 62).

The appeal to the apostolic authority of the Roman Pontiff in this text resembles that in the previous one. However, it explicitly contains an additional element: the reference to the unanimous approval of the Episcopate all over the world (an element that the Constitution Lumen gentium considers characteristic of the infallibility of the ordinary Magisterium; see n. 25).

Nevertheless, it would seem that not all the necessary conditions are present to make this pronouncement a dogmatic definition: in fact, the clear and manifest intention to define the content of the pronouncement as a dogma of faith seems to be missing. However, there is no doubt about the unalterable and definitive quality of the doctrinal content pronounced, its presentation as the content of Scripture and Tradition and, therefore, its unchangeable nature. Here too, and even more clearly, we find ourselves dealing with a doctrine of me Catholic faith, both in its affirmation and in its exclusion of anything that could be contrary to it.

The solemn, clear text is an application of the principle expressed in the first text briefly analyzed above. It would not be consistent to attribute less authority to the first text, which is its basis and foundation, than to the second.

In the third text we read: "Taking into account these distinctions, in harmony with the Magisterium of my Predecessors and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium" (n. 65).

This third text is a further application of the general principle established in the first pronouncement and it refers once again to its foundation in Revelation and to the continuity of the Magisterium's teaching in this regard. When the text refers to certain "distinctions", it alludes to the complex problem of using "extraordinary or disproportionate" measures to support the vital functions of a terminally ill patient, as well as to the use of "methods of palliative care" in the final stages of certain illnesses. This pronouncement is similar to the earlier two, with some small differences which, however, cannot modify the normative doctrinal value of this teaching. Thus we are once again faced with a doctrine "de fide Catholics".

In concluding, let us say that these affirmations or statements are expressed in numerous papal pronouncements made recently on moral matters. We add that they are all characterized by the same particular, deliberate solemnity. We note that they are an expression of Catholic doctrine about which there is a consensus in the Episcopal College, including its Head the Roman Pontiff. We declare, in their content, that they are unalterable pronouncements and that their acceptance is a condition for communion in the Catholic Church: those who reject them, cannot-claim to be in full communion with the Church.

It is sufficient to look at the index of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to realize that the doctrine of the Encyclical Evangelium vitae is in continuity with the Magisterium, which is a guarantee of revealed truth and of communion in faith.

We are grateful to the Roman Pontiff, the visible Head of the Catholic Church, for having confirmed us in faith.