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HERALD Columnist |
I received a letter the other day scribbled
with the following words: "All the rest of God's creation cannot continue
to be destroyed because the human species is breeding itself out of resources.
Get real…The world is already saturated with
unwanted humans!" Another pro-abortion person told me the world "sighs
with relief" when people die from disasters.
Interesting perspective.
This way of thinking is fueled by comments often heard at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), referring to a "world devastated by human activities." This description was used recently as the world reached the "Day of Six Billion."
Our population has reached six billion. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Population controllers mourn it as a disaster. On the other hand, a prestigious group of international leaders recently signed a statement entitled "Welcome, Baby Six Billion," which pointed out that this event is a blessing.
Overpopulation fears are too often misplaced.
The problem is neither that there are too many people nor that there are
too few resources. The problems, instead, are selfishness, the use of
food as a weapon by dictators, and the interference
by some governments with food production and adequate distribution.
As far as the existence of resources, to quote the statement mentioned above, "Enough grain is produced for every person on earth to consume 3,500 calories daily. If you add to that meat, fish, fruit and all other food sources, there is 4.3 pounds of food produced per person every day."
As far as the number of people, the statement points out, "Underpopulation, not overpopulation, is the greater threat to the world today. By the beginning of next year, over 70 countries representing over half the world's population will have below replacement rate fertility — defined as 2.1 children per woman. The populations of the developed nations are not doubling today, but are declining."
During the years I worked at the Vatican, there was hardly a day that some document from the United Nations did not come across my desk. No matter what the theme of the paper, the concern about "too many people" was rarely absent. Except, that is, for the reports about what the experts in demography were saying. The concern over declining population has solid evidence to back it up, and meetings have been held at UN headquarters to discuss what to do about it. No clear solution is in sight.
We might get a clue where to start, however,
by reflecting on our reaction to the birth of the world's Six Billionth
Baby. Can we rejoice? Can we give thanks for life, which "is always a good"
("Evangelium Vitae," No. 30)? Can we
bring ourselves, and at least one other person, to echo the sentiments
of the recent statement which concluded by saying, "We are grateful that
Baby Six Billion has come into the world. Baby Six Billion, boy or girl,
red or yellow, black or white, is not a liability, but an asset. Not a
curse, but a blessing. For all of us."
Father Pavone is the International Director of Priests for Life
and an official at the Vatican’s Council for the Family.
Contact Priests for Life at P.O. Box 141172, Staten Island, N.Y. 10314, Tel. 888 1PFL-3448, fax 718-980-6515, email pfl@priestsforlife.org, web site http://www.priestsforlife.org/.
Copyright ©1999 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
This article was published in the Arlington
Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol 24, No 46,
dated November 18, 1999, on page 5.
.
E-mail:
letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
Editorial: 703/841-2590;
Advertising: 703/841-2594;
Circulation: 703/841-2565
A note from the Web Master:
It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion. Let us not forget that ordinary everyday run of the mill abortion is also murder. We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method. Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not make the other methods less so. We should be horrified and sickened by any abortion regardless of the method. The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly:
"Thou shalt not kill."
A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul. Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any abortion occurs. Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone, to let them know how horrified you are that abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth abortions and all other abortions as soon as possible.
(It has become apparent that they do not respond to
email therefore you will have more of an impact by writing or telephoning.)
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