/ /* / mn
( 7a <

atholic, Com °mnet



Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/respectlifeOOunit



Lite!

Respect Life Committee

National Conference of Catholic Bishops

1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington. D.C. 20005

1975

*

L



No nation today is faultless where human rights are concerned. It is not the role of

the synod to identify specific violations; this can better be done at the local level. At

the same time we desire by our words and actions to encourage those who work for

human rights, to call upon those in authority to promote human rights, and to give

hope to those who suffer violations to their rights. We call attention here to certain

rights most threatened today.

“The right to life”: This right is basic and inalienable. It is grievously violated in

our day by abortion and euthanasia, by widespread torture, by acts of violence

against innocent parties, and by the scourge of war. The arms race is an insanity

which burdens the world and creates the conditions for even more massive

destruction of life.

“The right to eat”: This right is directly linked to the right to life. Millions today

face starvation. The nations and peoples of the world must make a concerted act of

solidarity in the forthcoming United Nations Food Conference. We call upon

governments to undergo a conversion in their attitude toward the victims of hunger,

to respond to the imperatives of justice and reconciliation, and speedily to find the

means of feeding those who are without food.

“Socio-economic rights”: Reconciliation is rooted in justice. Massive disparities

of power and wealth in the world, and often within nations, are a grave obstacle to

reconciliation. Concentration of economic power in the hands of a few nations and

multinational groups, structural imbalances in trade relations and commodity

prices, failure to balance economic growth with adequate distribution, both

nationally and internationally, widespread unemployment and discriminatory

employment practices, as well as patterns of global consumption of resources, all

require reform if reconciliation is to be possible.

“Politico-cultural rights”: Reconciliation in society and the rights of the person

require that individuals have an effective role in shaping their own destinies. They

have a right to participate in the political process freely and responsibly. They have

a right to free access of information, freedom of speech and press, as well as

freedom of dissent.

They have a right to be educated and to determine the education of their

children. Individuals and groups must be secure from arrest, torture and imprison-

ment for political or ideological reasons, and all in society, including migrant

workers, must be guaranteed juridical protection of their personal, social,
cultural

and political rights. We condemn the denial or abridgement of rights because of

race. We advocate that nations and contesting groups seek reconciliation by halting

persecution of others and by granting amnesty, marked by mercy and
equity, to

political prisoners and exiles.

“The right of religious liberty”: This right uniquely reflects the
dignity of the

person as this is known from the word of God and from reason itself. Today
it is

denied or restricted by diverse political systems in ways which
impede worship,

religious education and social ministry. We call upon all governments to

acknowledge the right of religious liberty in words and foster it in
deeds, to

eliminate any type of discrimination, and to accord to all,
regardless of their

religious convictions, the full rights and opportunities of
citizens.

Synod of Bishops, 1974

DeaeWWW



Introduction

The responsibility of every member of God’s human family to promote and foster a genuine respect for human

life is an ongoing challenge of first priority in today’s world. Though situations abound in which the sanctity of

human life is denied or ignored, nations and peoples are coming to a new understanding of human rights

within the context of the interdependent nature of international relationships.

The annual Respect Life Program is meant to focus our attention on the enduring need for justice and for

structures that will protect the dignity of man and insure human rights. It is not simply to decry the existence

of injustice in the world, but to emphasize the theological foundation of mankind’s thirst for justice. The

Program calls on the resources of parishes, schools, social service and health care agencies. The main theme of

the 1975 Program is family life. This approach was taken for two reasons.

First, respect for life involves respect for the person and for human dignity. The life of the individual

person begins in a family, and personal growth and development usually takes place within the family unit.

In fact, the primary learning experience of respect for the rights of others occurs in the earliest years of family

life. Moreover, material and spiritual needs are met, and opportunities for self-development are provided in

the context of family relationships. We can say that education for justice and social harmony is learned first of

all in the family.

The second reason for this focus in the Respect Life Program this year is that the welfare of society is very

much dependent on the stability and well-being of the family. A fair and equitable distribution of material

goods, a legal structure that respects family rights, the availability of housing, employment opportunities,

education and health care are basic to insuring family stability. But society must also clearly proclaim the value

of marriage and family life, and assist married couples in achieving stability and success in their marriage

relationship.

It is important that the family be able to draw on its own inherent strengths and resources. But society

can play a supportive role here by providing preparation for marriage and parenthood within the educational

system, and by establishing a network of counseling facilities and special remedial programs for families that

need them. We are often told that a major effort to assist families is unnecessary or too costly. But the

statistics on family disorganization prove the necessity, and the cost of an integral and consistent program of

family support is a small price to insure social harmony and peace.

This year's Handbook provides essays on the unborn, the family, the social conditions affecting family life,

the aging, and death and dying. The program format on children emphasizes that the child is a unique person

with special claims on the entire human family. For the child is not simply another “dependent,” but is the

representative of the future in the present milieu. Since 1975 has been designated by the United Nations as

International Women’s Year, there is a special format to highlight the contributions of women and the

obstacles to their full enjoyment of basic human rights.

The 1975 Respect Life Program begins on October 5, 1975. The schedule is open-ended with the options

of pursuing the various topics throughout the fall months, or utilizing the program during the weeks of Lent,

1976. Schools and religious education programs will likely adopt a schedule suited to their own needs.

As in previous years, each format begins with an overview of the theme, to generate awareness and

stimulate further investigation and deeper understanding. A special effort has been made to provide up-to-date
audiovisual resources in addition to books and pamphlets. Recommended programs are outlined, with reference

to agencies that will provide further program assistance.

As we have found in the past, the success of the Respect Life Program is mainly attributable to the

diocesan effort which increasingly involves laity, religious, priests and bishops in a highly visible effort to

proclaim the sanctity of life and the dignity of the person. As we approach our nation’s 200th birthday, we also

hope that Americans will rediscover the self-evident truths “that all men are created equal, that they are

endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of

happiness.” In so doing, we will demonstrate again the validity of the American dream, and we will stand

before the world as a people who respect the Creator and are dedicated to the human dignity of each person

He has called into existence.

Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities

Terence Cardinal Cooke, Chairman

Most Rev. George W. Ahr Most Rev. Justin A. Driscoll

Most Rev. Juan A. Arzube Most Rev. Francis Dunn

Most Rev. Walter W. Curtis Most Rev. Raymond J. Gallagher

Most Rev. Thomas A. Donnellan Most Rev. Timothy Harrington

Most Rev. Andrew McDonald

Most Rev. Harold R. Perry

Most Rev. Cornelius M. Power

Most Rev. Charles A. Salatka



Unborn

All should be persuaded that human life and the task of transmitting it

are not realities bound up with this world alone. Hence they cannot be

measured or perceived only in terms of it, but always have a bearing on

the eternal destiny of men. . . . For God, the Lord of life, has conferred

on men the surpassing ministry of safeguarding life in a manner which is

worthy of man. Therefore from the moment of its conception life must be

guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and infanticide are

unspeakable crimes.

Constitution on the Church in the Modem World

The debate about abortion has persisted in the U.S.

for almost a decade. Despite the attempt of the U.S.

Supreme Court to terminate the discussion, abortion is

and will remain a highly charged and much debated

topic. Why so? There are many reasons: abortion is

basically a moral question; it is related to other life-

death questions; the legal treatment of abortion has

serious implications for society’s respect for human life.

But perhaps the fundamental reason why the

abortion debate persists, with great determination and

zeal on both sides, is that it exposes some deeply

human and personal dilemmas. When does the life of

an individual human being begin? What should we do

— individually and as a nation — to sustain and
protect that life? What happens to the unborn child —
the parents— the medical profession — each time an
abortion takes place?

The Current Debate

The developing unborn child has increasingly been an

object of study by a variety of empirical sciences, such

as genetics, biology and fetology. The factual evidence

which they have accumulated shows that each indi-

vidual human life begins at fertilization, that is, when

the egg and sperm unite to form a new, genetically

distinct, human life.

Society now debates the question of whether this

new human life is to be valued in any way. On January

22, 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that unborn

human life represents a moral value of zero. However,

the evidence of ordinary human experience says

otherwise. Put simply, a woman knows when she is

pregnant, and she knows what she must do to nurture

her child during the first nine months of its life within

her. The adventure of a new human life has already

begun, and rejection of the unborn infant because he

is in one of the most dependent stages of human

development makes no more sense than rejecting a

newborn infant because he or she cannot talk, walk,

or engage in abstract thinking.

For human life, which is a gift of God, is the basis

of all human development, before as well as after birth.

The presence of human life is the basis of the dignity

of the human person and all human rights.

Human life is both a gift and a responsibility. It is

a precious gift that we share with all members of the

human family, the basis of innumerable relationships

of love, friendship, community. It is also the bond that

unites us, that sets up demands of justice, equality,

social harmony. Most importantly, the expectations of

pregnancy and the actual birth of the baby are for

parents a sign of their love and a promise of the future,

a future that they have given to someone who shares

their love.

Some who demean human life do so because it can

then more easily be destroyed. Current efforts to

expand abortion are not premised on an inherent

conflict between mother and child. On the contrary,

abortion is now pursued for social purposes or for

4



The Unborn

reasons of convenience. For instance, those in favor

of population control have designated the child as the

enemy, and abortion is the easiest weapon to wield. As

one population expert has expressed it, “the modern

growth of population will be slowed permanently only

to the extent that in the judgment of each individual

. . . children are worth less than they will cost in time,

in effort, in money, in emotion— or in the threat that
is posed by their very existence.”

Senators Charles Percy and Jacob Javits, in a

recent debate about government payment for abortion

on request, agreed that we should “consider the cost

of abortions as against the probability that a large

number of these children would be supported for

many, many years by taxpayers’ money if the abor-

tions were not permitted.” The Senators are wrong

because no such probability can be demonstrated, but

they are expressing the crass materialism of our age

which sees human life as expendable “if the price is

right.”

When Life Begins: A Factual Question

In response to the question, “When should the value

of personhood be attached to human life,” some claim

that relationship with others is the deciding norm,

some claim it is the presence of the soul, others cite

viability, and others birth. However, such claims

obscure or overlook the full range of the factual

scientific evidence pertinent to a determination of

whether human life is present. The sciences of fetology

and genetics yield the clearest evidence for such a

determination.

Fetology traces the development of both the

faculties and the organs that the unborn shares with

all other human beings. As Dr. A. W. Liley has

eloquently stated:

Biologically, at no stage can we subscribe to the view

that the fetus is a mere appendage of the mother.

Genetically, mother and baby are separate individuals

from conception. Physiologically, we must accept

that the conceptus is, in very large measure, in

charge of the pregnancy, in command of his own

environment and destiny with a tenacious purpose.

One hour after the sperm has penetrated the

ovum, the nuclei of the two cells have fused and

the genetic instructions from one parent have met

the complementary instructions from the other parent

to establish the whole design, the inheritance of a

new person. . . . [The uterus] is his home for the

next 270 days and to make it habitable the embryo

develops a placenta and a protective capsule of fluid

for himself. By 25 days the developing heart starts

beating, the first strokes of a pump that will make

3,000 million beats in a lifetime. By 30 days and just

2 weeks past mother’s first missed period, the baby,

14 inch long, has a brain of unmistakable human

proportions, eyes, ears, mouth, kidneys, liver and

umbilical cord and a heart pumping blood he has

made himself. By 45 days, about the time of mother’s

second missed period, the baby’s skeletonjs complete,

in cartilage not bone, the buds of the milk teeth

appear and he makes the first movements of his

limbs and body— although it will be another 12
weeks before mother notices movements. By 63 days

he will grasp an object placed in his palm and can

make a fist.

This then is the fetus we know and indeed once were.

This is the fetus we look after in modern obstetrics,

the same baby we are caring for before and after

birth, who before birth can be ill and need diagnosis

and treatment just like any other patient. This is also

the fetus whose existence and identity must be so

callously ignored or energetically denied by advocates

of abortion.

Another approach is that of genetics. Dr. Jerome

Lejeune, in what he terms a commonplace observation,

states flatly that “all human beings now living on this

planet share the same karotype,” that is, the same

genetic heritage. In this sense, as Dr. Lejeune also

notes, “during the transmission of life, the link between

parents and infant is continuous.” In other words,

from the fusion of the sperm and egg, the special

genetic information that is coded into RNA, DNA,

ribosomes and proteins, very much determines the

human development of the new— and genetically
independent — individual that we call the zygote or
the fetus. Thus, once fertilization takes place, if there

is no interference and if the unborn infant receives

sufficient nutrient supply, the process of human devel-

opment will culminate in the birth of a human baby.

The personhood of the unborn rests on objective

data. The facts give witness to the unmistakable

presence of human life. As the U.S. bishops stated in

their testimony before Congress on the need for a

constitutional amendment to protect human life:

Newly conceived human life should be reverenced as

a gift from God and from nature. The dignity of the

unborn child is neither conferred nor taken away

by any man or woman or by any government or

society. That dignity is rooted in an objective

individuality that inherently tends toward the open-

ness and transcendence men commonly call

personhood.

The Dimension of Human Experience

Wonderful as the process of human reproduction is,

we must remember that the infant, before as well as

after birth, is not just an abstract entity called “human

life.” Each child is also — and more importantly— a
unique person whose life and future are bound up with

the lives and futures of many other persons. For his or

her parents, the unborn child is an expression of their

relationship. For some couples, the relationship may

be one of infatuation or of manipulation. In most

cases, the relationship is that of love between two

persons who are pursuing a deeper unity and who see

their children as an affirmation of their unity, fidelity

and love. If abortion is thought of as the destruction

of the genetic blueprint, it may become an abstract

and impersonal decision. But for every man and

woman who have joined in bringing a child into being,

5



The Unborn

abortion is the killing of their own offspring, and

something of themselves dies with the unborn infant.

Perhaps one reason why almost one million known

legal abortions took place during 1974 is that the

abortion decision has been lifted out of the context of

woman-man relationships and parent-children rela-

tionships, and treated simply as a medical procedure,

a private act of a woman, a practical solution to a

difficult situation.

Thus in trying to understand why abortions take

place, we must first look at the type of relationships

between women and men that permit or prohibit such

killing.

When a man and a woman are in love, they pursue

a relationship of mutual trust, fidelity, honesty and

care for one another. Their interests, concerns, hopes

and lives become intertwined. More and more, they

see the future as a shared adventure, conditioned upon

their personal relationship. For the vast majority, this

constantly developing relationship leads to marriage.

It also prompts people to share their love with parents

and friends, with other members of society, but most

especially with the children they bring into the world.

This does not give a mystical quality to childbearing.

Being a parent always means increased responsibility,

increased risk, a greater sharing of oneself, and a call

for greater maturity on the part of both parents. But

meeting these demands also intensifies a couple’s love

for one another and strengthens the relationship

between them.

Thus, a new pregnancy does not become a

dangerous threat to their love and unity, nor too great

a burden for their relationship to bear. Pregnancy

means another opportunity to grow, to enrich the

quality of mutual love, another challenge to the family

to accept and care for a new member. For most

couples the reasons why they set out to have a baby

include the confidence that they will be good parents,

awareness that their reach into the future is shared

with their children, and recognition that children are

good people, good companions, and given love and

acceptance, good fun.

Children are also witnesses to the love between a

man and a woman, the generosity and courage they

have discovered and developed in their relationship,

the sense of mutual security they have in one another.

Indeed even when conception is not a carefully planned

event, in a healthy marriage, it is a sign of the

presence of these qualities.

All this emphasizes an obvious question. If

childbearing and parenting can be so good and reward-

ing, why arc there one million abortions a year? There

are a variety of answers. The sexual revolution and a

reluctance to assume responsibility for one’s actions,

an erroneous definition of female privacy endorsed by

the Supreme Court, the tendency to find easy and

quick solutions to all human problems — these things
provide a backdrop for permissive abortion.

But in many instances, abortion brings a woman

face-to-face with the fact that a relationship that she

hoped would develop and a person in whom she placed

her trust and love are totally unable to meet her

expectations. Abortion is the sign of rejection, of

isolation, of non-love. Abortion is an act of escape

from mutual love and from intimacy for both man and

woman; it is a denial of generosity and a betrayal of

empty promises. The woman is isolated, and left to

work out her problem. The man who encourages or

simply goes along with the abortion is dodging his

responsibility to a friend, the mother of his child. The

big-time spenders may salve their consciences by

paying the medical bills, but no financial arrangement

makes up for shattered hopes or the destruction of

one’s child. For every man who is a party to an abor-

tion, it is graphic testimony to his selfishness and

unwillingness to love his child and the mother of his

child.

Every abortion is the denial or destruction of a

human relationship between a man and woman. Not

only is the child dead, but something of their relation-

ship has also died. If there is a marriage and other

children, the abortion is a threat — psychologically
and physically— to the other children. Psychologists
tell us that children are disturbed by the knowledge of

abortion because it prompts the question of what

might have been — or yet might be— if they had
been or yet become too much of a strain on their

parents' convenience. And although statistics are not

completely conclusive, it is a thought provoking fact

that 28% of the abortions in 1974 were performed

on married women — a figure which correlates with
the number of divorces that can be expected among

couples marrying in a given year.

Abortion and the Medical Profession

In its 1973 abortion opinions, the Supreme Court

asserted that the abortion decision is “inherently and

primarily a medical decision, and basic responsibility

for it must rest with the physician.” Time and again

throughout the two opinions Justice Blackmun showed

unlimited confidence in the medical profession and

assigned extraordinary responsibilities to physicians.

Abortion may be a medical procedure, but it is not

simply a medical decision, nor is it one that involves

only the woman and her physician. The abortion

decision involves an expectant mother and the child,

as well as the father of the child. In many cases the

decision touches parents, family or close friends of the

expectant mother. The decision-making process

involves moral judgments, psychological or emotional

factors, and reaches into other areas such as the

relationship between father and mother and the

implications for future childbearing.

Nonetheless, responsibility for abortion does rest

heavily on the medical profession and especially on

those physicians who perform abortions. Dr. Bernard

Nathanson, a physician who directed the Center for

Reproductive and Sexual Health, the largest abortion

clinic in the United States, has clearly outlined the

ethical dilemmas that he faced and the responsibility

6



The Unborn

that he ultimately found unbearable. In a carefully

written article in a respected medical journal, Dr.

Nathanson denied that abortion is simply a medical

decision. In fact, said Dr. Nathanson, “there are

seldom any purely medical indications for abortion.

The decision is the most serious responsibility a

woman can experience in her lifetime, and at present

it is hers alone.”

After a year and a half, Dr. Nathanson resigned

as director of the Center. Although the Center had

performed 60,000 abortions with no maternal deaths,

he said that he was compelled to resign because “I am

deeply troubled by my own increasing certainty that I

had in fact presided over 60,000 deaths.”

Dr. Nathanson explained that there was no longer

any serious doubt in his mind that human life exists in

the womb from the very onset of pregnancy. In fact,

he wrote, “since the vast majority of pregnancies are

carried successfully to term, abortion must be seen as

the interruption of a process that would otherwise

have produced a citizen of the world. Denial of this

reality is the crassest kind of moral evasiveness.” He

argued that it is necessary to face the fact that in

abortion “we are taking life, and the deliberate taking

of life, even of a special order and under special

circumstances, is an inexpressibly serious matter.”

“Somehow,” Dr. Nathanson added, “we must not

deny the pervasive sense of loss that should accompany

abortion and its most unfortunate interruption of life.

We must not coarsen our sensitivities through common

practice and brute denial.”

Dr. Nathanson is not alone in his realization that

“life is an interdependent phenomenon for us all.”

Willingness to destroy life in certain circumstances

compromises the medical profession’s overall commit-

ment to heal, to cure, to protect and foster the capacity

of human beings for living.

The implications of permissive abortion for the

medical profession also came to light in the Boston

trial of Dr. Kenneth Edelin. Dr. Edelin was tried and

convicted of manslaughter for having caused or

allowed the death of a fetus that, in the mind of the

jury, might have survived with the doctor’s help. Dr.

Edelin pleaded innocent on the grounds that the fetus

was not a person, and that in performing the abortion

he felt no responsibility to preserve the life of the fetus.

In defense of the physician, it was argued that in

permitting abortion on request during the first six

months of pregnancy, the Supreme Court had accepted

that an abortion would destroy whatever “potentiality

for human life” a fetus might have. However, human

life is present from conception, and the process of

human development continues throughout the preg-

nancy. Practically, there is little difference between

an eight-month-old fetus and a one-month-old infant.

Both require care and sustenance to reach their poten-

tial as self-sustaining and independent persons.

The Boston case raises serious questions for society

and for the medical profession. First, on what grounds

and by what authority may a doctor terminate the life

of a living human fetus? Second, in an atmosphere of

permissive abortion, what is the doctor’s responsibility

to sustain the life of a living fetus? Third, if the

potential for human life is somewhat limited, as in the

case of the elderly, the seriously ill or victims of

accident or violence, is a doctor justified in refusing

medical care or in taking direct measures to terminate

life?

American society is aware of these problems, but

it seems unwilling to address them openly. For various

reasons, there is a tendency to defend the Supreme

Court’s opinions and to label all disagreement as the

fanatic opposition of Catholics and right-to-life forces.

However, other nations are struggling with the

same moral problems raised by the abortion question.

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled against

permissive abortion. The West German Supreme Court

rejected permissive abortion on the grounds that the

“bitter experience of the Nazi period provided histor-

ical grounds for determining that the protection of

human life should receive absolute priority.” The

German court emphasized that in the German

Constitution the express recognition of the self-evident

right-to-life was chiefly a reaction to theories of

“valueless life,” “the final solution,” and the liquida-

tion programs of the Nazi regime.

The abortion debate continues in the public forum.

In the late fall of 1974, nearly two years after the

Supreme Court’s abortion rulings, the highly respected

firm of DeVries & Associates conducted an extensive

public opinion poll which found that more than seven

out of every ten Americans think Congress should

take legislative action to reverse the Court’s abortion

rulings. This finding is consistent with the other major

opinion polls on abortion conducted over the last

decade. It is not surprising, then, that constitutional

amendments have been introduced in Congress and

that hearings have been in progress in the Senate for

over a year. On the state level, the question of appro-

priate abortion legislation remains unresolved. In an

alarming development, euthanasia legislation was

introduced in at least 13 state legislatures in 1975.

Human dignity and human rights are everyone’s

concern. They should be protected and promoted by

society through its legal institutions. Thus the Ameri-

can Catholic bishops have repeatedly endorsed an

amendment to the Constitution which will effectively

reverse the abortion decisions of the U.S. Supreme

Court. For “the existence of human rights and the

fragility with which they are maintained places a claim

on society to provide bulwarks of protection for

individuals. A society committed to justice, equality
and freedom must establish a system of law that

protects the rights of each person while maintaining

order and promoting the common good.”

Program Suggestions

Events of the past two years have made it clear that a

constitutional amendment is absolutely necessary in

7



The Unborn

order to assure any protection for unborn children.

The U.S. Catholic Conference, in testimony before the

U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amend-

ments, proposed the following principles that should

govern the drafting of an amendment:

• The amendment should establish that the unborn

child is a person under the law in the terms of the

Constitution from conception on.

• The Constitution should express a commitment to

the preservation of life to the maximum degree

possible. The protection resulting therefrom should

be universal.

• The proposed amendment should give the states the

power to enact enabling legislation, and to provide

for ancillary matters such as record keeping, etc.

• The right to life is described in the Declaration of

Independence as “unalienable” and as a right with

which all men are endowed by the Creator. The

amendment should restore the basic constitutional

protection for this human right to the unborn child.

In order to change the existing social atmosphere

allowing abortion virtually on request, citizen activity

is necessary at every level. This activity has been

carried on effectively by various pro-life organizations,

but for maximum effectiveness, a pro-life group should

exist in every parish. This group will serve to inform

parish leaders, to stimulate a public information

program, and to help direct political action. The

following activities are important.

Political Action

Systematic efforts arc necessary to persuade Congress

to pass a constitutional amendment and to create a

legal structure that prohibits permissive abortion. This

includes personal visits to elected representatives,

continual letter writing and sending of significant

articles or information to remind the Representatives

of your concerns.

The effort to pass an amendment includes asking

each Congressman to sponsor a Human Life Amend-

ment to the Constitution. Human Life Amendments

generally affirm that the basic legal rights of the person

should adhere to human life from its biological

beginnings at fertilization. (More information on

specific wording and resolution numbers can be

obtained by writing to the National Committee for a

Human Life Amendment (address listed below).)

For purposes of sponsorship the choice of a specific

amendment should be left to the Representative. The

important point of sponsorship is that the Congress-

man expresses a political commitment to reverse the

meaning and intent of the Supreme Court’s abortion

rulings. Those Congressmen who have sponsored a

states’ rights constitutional amendment (these

proposals simply leave it to the states whether they

will prohibit or allow abortions in any way) should

also be asked to co-sponsor a Human Life

Amendment.

If you organize a new pro-life group or join an

already existing one, it is important that in the group

one person be assigned the responsibility of co-ordi-

nating liaison work with the Congressman from the

district and the two senators from the state. Ideally,

there should be one person who holds a similar respon-

sibility for the totality of each congressional district.

These congressional liaison people usually work in

concert with the various national pro-life organiza-

tions, e.g., National Committee for a Human Life

Amendment, or the National Right to Life Committee.

Write to these groups and inform them of the name

of your congressional liaison person.

Congressional liaison work would involve research-

ing and monitoring the Representative’s legislative

action, votes, statements, etc.; forwarding to the

Representative's office pertinent newspaper editorials

and other news on abortion-related activities from

within the district or state; organizing meetings with

the Congressman both in Washington and in the home

district; relaying to your group program directives on

congressional matters sent out by the national offices,

etc.

Efforts to persuade state legislatures to enact laws

and regulations that restrict the practice of abortion to

the maximum extent possible are needed. Visits, letter-

writing and occasional phone calls are necessary as

described above.

The various Right to Life and Pro-Life organiza-

tions in your state or locale will be able to provide

specific input for such activity. Some national

resources include:

• Information on the congressional dimensions of

the amendment process can be obtained from:

National Committee for a Human Life Amendment,

1 707 L St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

• Information on other specific aspects of federal and

state legislation is available from: Bishops’ Com-

mittee for Pro-Life Activities, 1312 Mass. Ave.,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.

• General information on right to life activities is

available from: National Right to Life Committee,

National Press Bldg., Rm. 557, 529 14th St., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20045.

• Information on youth pro-life activities is available

from: National Youth Pro-Life Coalition, 236

Mass. Ave., Room 209, Congressional Bldg.,

Washington, D.C. 20002.

Public Information

Support of public opposition to abortion on request

and clarification of some of the issues that create

uncertainty in people’s minds require continual moni-

toring of the media. Competent spokespersons should

seek opportunities to publish articles, to speak out on

TV and radio shows, and to take part in community

programs where the issue is debated. Doctors and

8



ABORTION, ATTITUDES, AND THE LAW

The enclosed booklet, - Abortion, Attitudes.
,
and the

Law contains data which was compiled by De Vries

and Associates, a highly respected polling firm com-

missioned by the National Committee for a Human Life

Amendment
,

Inc. to sample public opinion on a wide

range of pro-life issues. We think that the informa-

tion would be especially helpful to priests. The

poll indicates that:

A. Priests/ministers rank at the top in

confidence level.

B. People expect "guidance on moral issues"

from priests even if it means that the

priest will get involved in politics.

C. Priests rank fourth out of 23 reliable

information sources.

The implications of these findings and others in tne

study indicate that

:

A. Priests should be encouraged to study the

issue of abortion laws.,, and to provide in-

formation and motivation to their people.

They should approach the abortion question

in the context of other respect life issues,

and avoid a one-issue approach.

B. Priests can give "moral guidance," and also

;
point to political implications of the

moral guidance,

C. r Priests should work closely with doctors.

and lawyers in providing leadership and

motivation to their people.

D. At the level of political activity, priests

should organize pro-life groups and provide

information and tactical advice to such

groups

,

E. In attempting to build public understanding
of the moral issue, priests should elicit

as much ecumenical understanding and support

as possible.

We would encourage you to study the entire document.

Some of the findings may tend to support your personal
impressions and others may surprise you. In either

case, we feel that the study will assist your deter-

mining what role your people expect you to play in

some of the more profound questions of public and per-
sonal morality.



» j

*'
1

J rl rr



The Unborn

nurses should be encouraged to take part in this public

information effort.

Ultimately, the law is the great educator on human

rights issues. The public education process must be

accompanied by a proper articulation of the rights of

the unborn in the law.

The bibliography below should be of assistance in

highlighting valuable educational and research

materials.

Education

An accurate knowledge and understanding of the

growth and development of the unborn child leads to

a more clearly reasoned opposition to abortion. Thus,

it is important to include information on conception,

pregnancy, fetal development and childbirth in educa-

tional programs, especially for junior high school

students and onwards. Several textbooks for use in

high schools and adult education programs are now

available:

• Human Life: Our Legacy and our Challenge,

Marcy Cavanagh Sneed (ed.), N.Y., McGraw Hill,

1975. Classroom tested. Human Life provides a

comprehensive look at the life issues by specialists

in the fields of political science, law, natural science,

sociology, mental health, and others. The program

concerns itself with positive values, and contrasts

these values with the current attacks that threaten

or ignore the value and dignity of human life—
abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, etc.

Discussion questions and bibliographies for each

chapter are included. Good for high school and

adult education programs as well as for popular

reading. Cost: $4 (discount for bulk orders,

$3 ea.). [Webster/McGraw Hill, 1221 Ave. of the

Americas, N.Y. 10020]

• Choose Life, Indiana Catholic Conference. A cur-
riculum guide for teachers and a manual for stu-

dents for use in upper grade school years. The

program covers the abortion issue in the context of

other pro-life concerns and is quite effective. For

information: Indiana Catholic Conference, 442

Illinois Bldg., Illinois & Market Sts., Indianapolis,

Ind. 46204^

• Love for Life, Right to Life of So. Calif., 301 S.

Kingsley Dr., Los Angeles, Calif. 90020. Cost:

$1.50. Quantity rates available.

• Abortion: A Study in Human Values, Committee

for Life, 21 Rockville Ave., Rockville Centre, N.Y.

11570. Donation: $5.00.

Social Action

Assistance to women with problem pregnancies and

their unborn children requires a combined effort of

voluntary agencies and professional resources. Volun-

teers can be trained to take phone calls, and to help

women in need. Part of the help may require assistance

of physicians, social workers and psychologists.

• Pregnancy counseling and Birthright programs

enlist volunteers to provide one-to-one assistance to

pregnant women in distress. More than 600 coun-

seling centers are now operating in the United

States. A complete listing of these centers is avail-
able for $1.00 from: Alternatives to Abortion,

Hillcrest 511, Madison & 16th Sts., Toledo, Ohio

43624. Information for setting up a pregnancy

counseling service, as well as a periodic newsletter,

are also available from Alternatives to Abortion.

• The local Catholic Charities organization, or its

equivalent, is a valuable resource and guide to those

individuals or citizen groups who wish to become

more involved in some particular program to assist

pregnant women and their children. Check your

local telephone directory or write to: National

Conference of Catholic Charities, 1346 Connecticut

Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Special Pro-Life Projects

Some type of activity on or around January 22 each

year is useful to call attention to the Supreme Court’s

1973 abortion decisions, and to give public witness to

the strength of the pro-life effort and the determination

of a majority of people who believe some Congres-

sional action is appropriate.

Information on such activities in Washington, D.C.

can be obtained from the National Right to Life

Committee, National Press Bldg., Rm. 557, 529 14th

St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20045. Your state pro-

life office will have information regarding local events.

Bibliography and Resource Materials

These materials are listed in addition to those mentioned

above under “Program Suggestions.”

Books/Pamphlets

Abortion, Attitudes and the Law, 16-page booklet

published by the Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life

Activities and Our Sunday Visitor (1975). This booklet

contains an analysis of the main findings of a study of

public attitudes toward abortion and the legal and

political implications thereof. The findings are consistent

with past polls in showing that the majority of Americans

do not agree with the Supreme Court and would favor

some restriction of the present abortion-on-request

situation in the United States. Available from: Bishops’

Committee for Pro-Life Activities. 1312 Mass. Ave.,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.

Documentation on the Right to Life and Abortion.

United States Catholic Conference. 1974. Contains the

testimony of the U.S. bishops on a human life constitu-

tional amendment to the United States Constitution,

submitted before the U.S. Senate at hearings held March

7, 1974. This booklet should prove a valuable aid in

parish education programs. Available from: USCC
Publications, 1312 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.

20005. Cost: 75C Quantity rates available.

9



The Unborn

Life in Our Hands, Valerie V. Dillon, 1973. Considers

contemporary ethical/ medical questions, including

abortion, sterilization, euthanasia, and other pertinent

topics. Available from: Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life

Activities. Cost: $1.25. Quantity rates available.

The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical Perspec-

tives, John T. Noonan, Jr. (ed.), 1970, Cambridge,

Mass., Harvard Univ. Press, 276 pp., $2.95, paper. Seven

outstanding scholars probe the moral and legal aspects

of the abortion issue.

Abortion and Social Justice, Thomas W. Hilgers and

Dennis J. Horan (eds.L Sheed & Ward. 1972. A valuable

collection of essays on all aspects of the abortion

question. Available from: Sheed & Ward, 6700 Squibble

Rd., Mission, Kansas 66202. Cost: $3.95.

Nine Facts to Know About Abortion, Valerie V. Dillon

(1974). Well done 16-page question and answer

pamphlet. Covers medical, legal, biological, and

theological aspects of abortion: includes select biblio-

graphy. Available from: Indiana Catholic Conference,

442 Illinois Bldg.. Illinois & Market Sts., Indianapolis.

Ind. 46204. Single copies: 25<
i

.
Quantity rates available.

Spanish edition available from Bishops’ Committee for

Pro-Life Activities. Cost: 25c.

The Ethics of Fetal Research. Paul Ramsey, 1975, New

Haven, Conn.. Yale Univ. Press (149 York St.l. Ramsey

outlines the basic ethical issues involved in fetal research,

and their relevance for public policy. His treatment is

basic to the discussion of government regulation of fetal

research. Cost: $2.95.

The Human Life Review, James McFadden (ed.). This

quarterly journal provides important documentation from

law. medicine and the social sciences on pro-life issues.

It is a professional journal intended for special use in

libraries and in providing a permanent compilation of

important texts that present a pro-life perspective. Write:

Human Life Review. Rm. 540, 150 E. 35th St., New

York. N.Y. 10016. Cost: $2.50 a copy.

National Right to Life News. Provides general coverage

of right-to-life events and activities. Published monthly

by National Right to Life Committee, Suite 557,

National Press Bldg.. 529 14th St.. N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20045. Subscription rate: $6 yrlv.

How to Teach the Pro-Life Story. Dr. & Mrs. J. C.
Willke, 1973. Cincinnati. Hiltz & Hayes Pub. Co. (6304

Hamilton Ave.) A handbook for teachers and lecturers.

Provides substantive data plus educational techniques

and a wide aray of informational tactics. Cost: $2.95.

Audio/Visuals

The First Days of Life. 24 min., color. Eloquently shows

the humanity of the unborn child, from the very

beginning of life through delivery. Pictures of children

of various ages vividly point out that life is indeed a

continuum. By far one of the best films in this area.

Purchase: $275 (previews available); Rental: $20 per

showing. Available from: For Life, Inc., 1917 Xerxes

Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. 55411. Tel: 612/521-6408.

Mother Tiger, Mother Tiger, 11 min., color. Using very

little dialogue, the film shows a mother’s struggle, despair

and eventual acceptance of her retarded child. Reaffirms

the right to life of each person, and brings out the real

beauty of each child too often rejected by a perfection-

oriented society. Purchase: $150: Rental: $13. Cat. No.

8202. Teleketics, Franciscan Communications Center,

1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles, CA 90015.

And God Made Man. filmspot by Fr. Tom Royer, color.

Shows the beauty and humanity of the developing baby

prior to birth. No dialogue, but the background music

and use of a heartbeat bring the developing child even

more dramatically alive. Good for use in classroom or

church before speaking of the humanity of the unborn

child. Available from: Office of Communications, 612 E.

Park Ave.. Champaign. 111. 61820. Tel: 217/352-8364.

Cost: $25.

The Choice, filmspot by Fr. Tom Royer, color. Beauti-

fully illustrates the developing child prior to birth, as in

And God Made Man. with same excellent use of back-

ground music and heartbeat. Film shifts dramatically to

show in separated segments, pictures of unborn children

destroyed by abortion. Dialogue consists only of a young

woman saying “Abortion is a serious choice. Think about

it." Quite effective. Available from: Office of Communi-

cations. 612 E. Park Ave., Champaign, 111. 61820. Cost:

$25.

Leo Beurman. 13 min., color. 16 mm. An inspirational

film about a day in the life of a severely handicapped

man — dwarfed, crippled and deaf almost from birth —
w hose unquenchable spirit has enabled him to lead a

fruitful life. Purchase: $190; Rental: 10% of list price.

Available from: Centron Educational Films, 1621 W. 9th

St.. Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

Celebration in Fresh Powder, 28 min., color, 16 mm.

Confronts the confusion and pressures a high school girl

goes through when she becomes pregnant out of wed-

lock, and she must decide whether to abort, marry the

child's father, or have the baby outside of marriage.

Purchase: $325: Rental: $18.95 a day (Also in b/w.

Purchase: $160: Rental: $12.95 a day.) Available from:

Paulist Productions. P.O. Box 1057. Pacific Palisades. CA
90272.

Abortion — A Woman s Decision, 22 min., color, 16 mm.
A dramatic presentation of how a pregnant high school
girl comes to the decision not to have an abortion.

Purchase: $200: Rental $25 (must state dates film is

desired). Available from: ACTA Films, 484S N. Clark
St.. Chicago, III. 60640.

Legal. Medical & Moral Implications in the Advance-

ment in the Life Sciences, cassette by Father Charles

Carroll. Carroll, an episcopal priest, talks about the

implications for abortion and euthanasia, relating them

to the Nazi experience. Available from: For Life, Inc.

Cost: $4.25 plus postage.

Birthday. 7 min., 16mm., color. The story of a woman’s

decision to give birth rather than have an abortion.

Available from: Archdiocesan Communications Center.

50 Oak St.. San Francisco. Calif. 94102. Purchase $65;

Rental. $10.

10



Marriage

arid

lamilijlUe

A man and a woman who love one another, the smile of a child, the

peace of a home: here is the wordless but astoundingly pervasive sermon

in which every man can already discern, as it were shining through, the

reflection of another love and its infinite appeal.

Pope Paul VI to the Teams of Our Lady

Although eight out of ten Americans over 1 8 years of

age see a happy family life as their number one goal,

the popular image of the American family is negative

and confused.

• The steadily increasing divorce rate has prompted

some to speak of “throwaway marriage.” Yet close

to 75% of American couples remain in their first

marriage, with some realization of satisfaction and

success.

• Communes, “living together,” and serial monogamy

are sometimes called alternatives to marriage and

family life. But on closer investigation, these

phenomena are found to be efforts to insure the

family-oriented value of stability, and to achieve

some of the advantages and rewards of the tradi-

tional pattern of marital living.

• The alienation of the young, youthful runaways,

and the irresponsible use of drugs, alcohol and sex

have been seen as a rejection of traditional values.

Increasingly, they are found to be the result of poor

marriages and the lack of familial relationships, as

well as consequences of the overall permissiveness

in society.

Unfortunately, the problems — and tragedies —
of family life have dominated public attention and led

to two erroneous conclusions.

1. The family has had it. It is a destructive force

which will be rejected and ultimately replaced by

some new system of interpersonal relationships.

2. The breakdown of family life is symptomatic of

the overall moral decline in society. The only way

for families to survive is by isolating themselves

from the general society.

If these were the only options, future prospects

would indeed be gloomy. But there are other explana-

tions for the problems affecting marriage and family

life. These lead to some more hopeful predictions for

the future.

First of all, rapid social change is an obvious facet

of the contemporary world. Although change is often

a sign of progress, at the personal level it can also be

quite unsettling. Continued change creates tension for

any institution, including the family.

We can expect that the next quarter century will

continue to be a period of change. Yet is is clearer

today than ever before that people must determine the

course of change, rather than merely be the subjects

of uncontrolled trends and forces.

It is a demonstrated fact of history that the family

has always manifested inner strength and/or resilience

which have enabled it to adjust and adapt to changes

in society. This resilience prompts family expert Betty

Yorburg to predict that “the nuclear family will not

only perdure into the 21st century, but it will be

stronger than ever.”

Although debates about the nuclear family have

been commonplace, the overwhelming majority of

family specialists agree that the nuclear family is here

to stay. However, the American model of the nuclear

family has often been described as “isolated.” It is this

aspect that has produced considerable tension and

strain.

A newly married couple, separated from family

and friends, living in a new environment, caught up in

the competition attendant on the man’s employment

status, frequently experienced feelings of isolation—
and at times helplessness. The presence of kin or of

close friends to share the joyful events of the early

11



Marriage

years of marriage, to provide advice or encouragement

in meeting problems, was generally unavailable.

But the assumption that once a couple married,

their ability “to go it alone” was necessary to prove

their maturity no longer finds much acceptance. Many

young people also experience separation from their

parent families during years at college or in military

service, and relocation is thus not something new and

different. Mobility is pretty much institutionalized in

our culture, and is generally accepted as a fact of life.

Moreover, the availability of communications and

transportation facilities has largely nullified the effects

of great distance. The telephone makes it fairly easy

for people “to keep in touch,” and modem transpor-

tation facilities provide the opportunity for parents to

visit the young marrieds.

Consequently, young couples are more prepared

for the problems of nuclear family living. They have

learned to create new kinship networks that take the

place of families and old neighborhood friends. Thus,

the contemporary family need not be isolated, nor

feel the effects of separation. In fact, we speak of the

present-day family as having developed a new type of

extension that meets the personal, emotional needs

formerly met by a kinship or clan system. Perhaps the

most important change that has taken place is that the

function of the present-day nuclear family in meeting

the psychological and emotional needs of its own

members receives major emphasis, while the individual

family unit in an extended family system was con-

sidered important for its contribution to the func-

tioning of the entire clan.

At any rate, there are some basic human needs

that are met by the contemporary nuclear family, and

some adaptations that seem likely. Given positive

progress in these areas, the value and importance of

the family will be heightened. We now turn to a closer

examination of these facets of today’s nuclear family.

Intimacy

Intimacy— a recognized human need — is best
achieved in a stable one-to-one relationship. As

Andrew Greeley notes, “The real problem is not so

much that the family is falling apart, but that expecta-

tions of the physical and psychological rewards of

family life are growing far more rapidly than our

capacities to deal with the challenges and problems of

human intimacy.”

In recent years, marriage has been seen not simply

as a contract or agreement, but as a partnership, a

mutual relationship, a community of persons. Partner-

ship and mutuality imply equality, and one of the

beneficial effects of the women’s liberation movement

is to enable women to see themselves as equal partners

in marriage. Each person brings to marriage his or her

own abilities, temperament and talents. Spouses are

not identical, but they should strive to complement

one another.

In order to achieve unity in marriage, people need

incentive and continual motivation. Husband and wife

should support one another in developing their

personal potential.

Marriage is the unique interpersonal relationship

in which opportunities abound for personal develop-

ment. Marriage can be a continuing, evolving, devel-

oping process of growth for both man and woman. To

the extent that each partner becomes more fully a

person, the marriage is enriched. And to the extent

that the marriage union grows stronger, both partners,

and their children, feel more secure.

But marriage is not simply a growth process for

individuals. Marriage is also a deeply personal and

loving relationship between a man and a woman. In

a highly competitive and technologized society, it is

the principal relationship that focuses on the person.

Human love is the dynamic element in marriage.

It gives strength and endurance to the relationship. It

is the gift whereby husband and wife freely give them-

selves to one another, without counting the cost or

fearing the risks. But love is not some mystical,

unidentifiable quality. It is found in the understanding,

trust and empathy that husband and wife develop

toward one another. It is deepened by communication,

by play, by prayer. It is refined in the tension, struggles

and conflicts that a couple experience and work out

during the entire course of their married lives. Love

strengthens the relationship and deepens the fidelity

and commitment between husband and wife. It leads

them to a greater unity, generosity and courage in

solving ordinary problems and in facing the world and

the future. Most importantly, human love is also a

reflection of God’s love, and it brings special gifts

from God — gifts of reconciliation, perfection and
holiness.

The understanding of marriage as relationship and

partnership, based on mutual love, has been upheld as

a concept of the western, developed world, inspired by

Judaeo-Christian teaching. It is increasingly being

adopted as the ideal by developing nations as well. At

the United Nations World Population Conference in

1974, more than 135 nations agreeds that “family ties

[should] be strengthened by giving recognition to the

importance of love and mutual respect within the

family unit.”

The Family as Transmitter of Values

Family specialist, Otto Poliak, has observed that the

most important loss the family has suffered is the

ability to set its own standards. The rcassertion of

values and moral principles in society can be expected

to proceed from a reaffirmation of beliefs, values and

norms within families. The family has always been

looked upon as the transmitter of values and beliefs

from one generation to the next.

The effort is simplified when the values and beliefs

of the family unit are supported and promoted by the

entire society. Unfortunately, that is not the case in a

religiously heterogeneous society. It is even less true

in American society where the commitment to plural-

ism and privacy and the influence of secularism further



Marriage

deprive the family unit of support in the maintenance

and protection of basic values. Thus, sexual freedom,

divorce, and abortion are defended as matters of

individual privacy, and their destructive effects on

marriage and family life are ignored or denied. More-

over, although sexual irresponsibility, marital infidelity,

and violence toward children are matters of personal

failure or malice, they are also indications of society’s

failure or refusal to support the family, particularly in

times of stress.

In the United States, Catholics are the largest

religious group, but they are a minority in terms of

the total population. Thus, Catholic families are faced

with the difficulty of maintaining their distinctive

beliefs, values and practices in a society where many

of the teachings of their church are openly rejected.

For example, the Catholic position on abortion has

generated considerable antagonism toward Catholics.

Religious freedoms, formerly protected under the

Constitution, are now being challenged or denied.

Moreover, the broadening application of the Supreme

Court’s “religious entanglement” and “divisiveness”

theories may further isolate any religious group that

publicly enunciates its theological beliefs.

As John L. Thomas, S.J., observes, “under these

circumstances, a religious minority’s problem is not

primarily that its members must deal with one or more

morally objectionable practices, but rather with what

they must regard as a morally pathological social

system. It is precisely this normalcy of the patholog-

ical . . . that makes the achievement of a minority’s

family values so difficult.”

What, then, can Catholics or any religious group

do to bring about public recognition of moral values?

First of all, there must be a concerted effort within the

family to clarify and reaffirm basic beliefs, values and

moral principles. Parents and children must understand

and be committed to a specific religious worldview,

and be courageous and generous enough to live up to

its demands.

Second, as Andrew Greeley notes, Catholics should

insist on the importance of family and local commu-

nity in the formulation of social policy affecting family

life. Thereby, Catholics are able to build coalitions

with Jews and with other Christians who are often

committed to similar family values.

Third, the church, through its leadership and

agencies, must support the efforts of Catholic families

to live according to basic beliefs and values. This

involves understanding and support by the clergy and

religious orders, adaptation of religious education

efforts at every level to cooperate with the family, and

the social approval and recognition by the entire

community of “the family in which various generations

come together and help one another grow wiser and

harmonize personal rights with the other requirements

of social life.” [Constitution on the Church in the

Modern World, No. 52]

Nonetheless, marriage and family life are experi-

encing special problems. In the United States, the

incidence of divorce has steadily increased during the

past decade, and the divorce rate for 1974 was almost

twice the rate for 1964. The widespread acceptance

of infidelity and divorce tends to diminish the commit-

ment to unity and permanence. The move toward no-

fault divorce laws may lead to an increase in the

divorce statistics, and to the termination of some

marital relationships that might be stabilized.

However, stability and success in marriage are not

dependent simply on laws, counseling facilities, or the

absence of alternatives. Rather, people must come to

understand that marriage is part of God’s plan to

realize in mankind His design of love. Just as God’s

love is faithful and creative, the marriage relationship

should lead to interpersonal unity and to the genera-

tion and education of new members of the family.

Unity, permanence and fidelity are both the goals and

obligations of married couples, and these qualities lead

to intimacy and to generosity. The practical result is

the building of a family— the sharing of life through
childbearing, and the willingness to provide care and

compassion for children, old people and other persons

in need.

Socialization and Education of Children

The family remains the best structure for the socializa-

tion and education of children. Efforts at communal

childbearing, though successful in terms of indoctrina-

tion and discipline, do not compare with the family in

assuring the proper emotional and psychological

development of the child. As Margaret Mead has

noted, “every time any society has tried to do away

with the family as a childrearing institution, it has

gotten into trouble.”

The child must be seen as an individual person,

with all the potentiality for discovery, learning, and

understanding appropriate to his or her age and

experience. The child is mankind’s link with the future,

not simply by allowing parents to extend themselves

vicariously, but by being the agent through whom the

wisdom and accomplishments of one age are trans-

mitted to subsequent generations.

Yet the world is not an entirely friendly place for

children. At times the child is blamed for problems

and difficulties of the adult world. More often, adults

— preoccupied with their own difficulties — ignore
the needs and capabilities of children. Yet loving

parents and a supportive family can stimulate and

insure the emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth

of the child.

Older Members of the Family

Intergenerational conflicts may be expected to decline

as society finds new ways to integrate both the young

and the old into the ongoing paths of daily living.

In every society there has been a generation gap

of some sort, but its disruptive effects have generally

been neutralized by social norms and institutions. The

rapid change in the demographic structure in our

13



Marriage

nation is already narrowing the gap. Whereas only a

few years ago the under-25 generation captivated

public attention, with a decrease in births the elderly

are now increasing in number and asserting their

claims for support and recognition by society. An

increased effort by government to provide financial

support for the very young and the elderly will give

the aging greater independence and remove some of

the stigma of being economically non-productive. At

the same time, with the nuclear family reaching out

for kinship support, older members of society can

re-integrate and supply the emotional and social

support required by children and their parents.

Family Life and the Church

Almost every religion has recognized the importance

of the link between family life and church affiliation.

In fact, the family was generally protected by the

church because the transmission of religious values

and the extension of church membership were best

accomplished when viewed as basically family

responsibilities.

Until very recently, the Catholic understanding of

the theology of marriage was pretty much modeled on

the theology of baptism. When a man and a woman

exchanged their vows, they received the sacrament of

matrimony which established a new commitment and

conferred new responsibilities and special graces. Since

Vatican II, we have emphasized that a complete

understanding of marriage and family life is rooted in

a more perfect understanding of the nature of the

church. In other words, marriage, like the church, is

“a sacrament or sign of intimate union with God, and

of the unity of all mankind ... an instrument for the

achievement of such union and unity.” [Dogmatic

Constitution on the Church, No. 1 1]

Moreover, Christian spouses, by their love for one

another create a deeper unity and intensify their

mutual fidelity. It is this ever deepening and develop-

ing human love which gives permanence to the

marriage relationship. But this love relationship

between a man and woman who are married in Christ

is a sign of “that unity and fruitful love which exists

between Christ and His Church.” [Dogmatic Constitu-

tion on the Church, No. 1 1] And the Church desig-

nates this relationship as sacramental because its

continual existence at all times and among all peoples

is a realistic example, a lasting witness to the love of

God for His people, the love of Christ for the church.

The love relationship between the spouses is not

simply a static sign or reminder of something else. It

is also dynamic — it creates, sustains, heals and
proclaims other realities beyond itself. Thus, the family

springs from the marriage relationship, and the experi-

ence of marital intimacy leads to the initiation of new

life. The distinctive feature of the Christian family is

that Christian love is the pervasive and transforming

force which enables its members to “proclaim both

the present virtues of the kingdom of God and the

hope of a blessed life to come.” [Constitution on the

Church in the Modern World, No. 35]

This relationship between the family and the

church has always been acknowledged, though not

always fully realized. Indeed, the Christian family at

any time in history faces obstacles in accomplishing its

work of evangelization. However, the prophetic role

has always been a matter of highest priority for those

couples involved in the apostolate of marriage and

family life. Specifically, it has been a keystone of the

educational efforts of Cana and Pre-Cana Conferences,

it has motivated the organized activity of the Christian

Family Movement, and it has been an inspiration and

incentive to the Teams of Our Lady. Most recently, it

has given impetus to the growth of Marriage Encounter

throughout the United States.

Program Suggestions

A Pastoral Plan for Marriage and Family Life

The 1973 Respect Life Handbook described six

important priorities for a Pastoral Plan that would

engage the energies of an entire diocese. These

priorities remain valid. We list them again as a back-

drop for further program suggestions.

1 . Development of a theology of marriage and family

life, as a mutual effort of theologians and married

couples.

2. Adult education directed toward all married

couples and families to acquaint them with new

developments in the church's teaching and with

liturgical advances that particularly concern the

family.

3. Priestly formation efforts to prepare seminarians

and to update priests in regard to existing pastoral

programs.

4. Wider secular involvement of church agencies. It

remains a pressing need to involve the church in

the general community, to expand the communica-

tions effort — especially via radio and TV— and
to generate more sophisticated responses to laws

and public policies affecting family life.

5. Family life and sex education courses. To counter-

act hedonistic or secularistic approaches to human

sexuality and its relation to marriage, the church

should emphasize Christian values and moral

principles in educational efforts directed to the

young.

6. Specific pastoral challenges. Among these is the

problem of teenage marriage. Programs underway

in at least 30 dioceses now seek to provide special

preparation and counseling for young or otherwise

immature couples.

Parish Programs

The parish is the basic geographic unit through which

the church carries on the pastoral ministry. Parishes

14



Marriage

differ according to demographic or sociological factors,

and many pastoral efforts are diocesan or regional.

Nonetheless, the parish should direct a great deal of

its energies and resources toward the family unit,

because the majority of people live in family units, and

because the family itself can effectively collaborate in

the parish’s overall pastoral effort by reaching other

persons or groups. A family-centered parish program

includes the following priorities:

A Instructional programs for the growth of married
couples and the engaged.

• Cana Conferences, Marriage Enrichment Programs,

marriage courses.

• Semi-annual course on parents’ preparation for the

baptism of their children.

• Lecture series on child development, with special

emphasis on the pre-school child.

• Preparation course for parents of First Com-

municants.

• Marriage and family living programs for high

school students. Such a program can follow any

standard text, but it should provide for selected

couples to direct the course in their own homes for

about six weeks.

• Education in sexuality directed toward parents of

grade school children and correlated with a school

or religious education program.

• Natural family planning program for couples.

• Periodic pre-natal education program, in conjunc-

tion with a local hospital.

A Spiritual development and renewal for families.

• Teams of Our Lady*

• Families for Prayer*

• Family Night Program.*

• Periodic Recollection Evening for Married Couples.

• Family Retreats.

A Social and recreational programs to build a spirit
of community among couples and families.

• Annual picnic.

• Annual dance.

• Pot luck supper for families.

A Community action programs to support family life.

• Christian Family Movement*

• Involvement in school board activities, special

community efforts in behalf of minorities.

• Development of collaboration with local pro-life

groups.

A Ecumenical program to carry on a dialogue with

* See “Family Resource Organizations,” for program

explanation.

other churches in regard to mixed marriage,

shared understandings of baptism, eucharist,

church membership.

A Parish or community service efforts.

• Catechetical programs for disadvantaged children.

• Periodic visits by selected families to the sick and

the elderly, especially those in institutions.

Family Resource Organizations

Teams of Our Lady, founded in France in 1938, and

which numbers more than 22,000 families in the

world today, attempts

• To develop conjugal spirituality in and through

couples, and

• To bring Christ to these marriages.

Each Team is composed of five to eight couples

who meet on a regular basis in the homes of the

couples. Their meetings consist of (a) a shared meal

together, (b) a period of prayer, including meditation

on a Bible text, (c) time for sharing reflections,

personal situations, professional problems, and

spiritual insights, and (d) discussion of the month’s

topic. For information write: Teams of Our Lady,

U.S. Secretariat, 8503 Chervil Rd., Lanham, Md.

20801 . A bimonthly newsletter is published by Teams
of Our Lady. Contact: Mr. & Mrs. P. Canan, 3724

Stoney Castle St., Olney, Md. 20832.

Families for Prayer Program. This is an intensive

five-week program to be conducted at the parish level.

It is designed to foster Christian values and attitudes

toward the family, to promote family prayer, and to

enable families to build those deep relationships in

Christ which are the foundation of true and whole-

some community. The Families for Prayer Program

includes:

• Liturgy Program. Homily outlines and prayers of

the faithful for five Sundays; Penance Service and

Prayer Vigil.

• Education Program. Formats for use in the school

or religious education program.

• Home Program. Reaches out to every home to

enable families to work through the theme for each

of the five weeks, and to build prayer life within

the family unit.

• Youth Program. Extends the program to other

individuals and groups within the parish.

Families for Prayer is a coordinated and integral

program. The materials, which enable any parish to

conduct the program, are available from: Families for

Prayer, 773 Madison Ave., Albany, N.Y. 12208.

Tel. 518/462-6458

Family Night Program. Developed in the Diocese

of Phoenix, Arizona, the program involves eight

15



Marriage

weekly sessions in which the family works together to

better explore and understand the values and com-

mitments of family life. Each session includes prayers,

a discussion format, some type of project to be worked

on by the entire family. For information write to:

Mr. & Mrs. T. Reilly. Family Fife Office, 400 E.

Monroe. Phoenix, Ariz. 85004. Tel. 602/257-0030.

Christian Family Movement. This is a married

couples' movement, that began as small, community-

oriented groups of couples dedicated to positive action

on local problems. CFM. which is now an ecumenical

movement, and which in 1969 established a Spanish-

speaking counterpart. Movimiento Familiar Christiano,

reaches more than 100.000 couples in the world

today. CFM has been an important part of the family
life movement, and during its history has trained

large numbers of couples for social action, for family

life education, and for involvement in other specific

areas of the church's life in the United States. CFM
publishes a monthly newsletter, as well as training and

leadership materials. For information write: Christian

Family Movement. 1655 W. Jackson. Chicago, 111.

60612. Tel. 312/829-6101.

Marriage Encounter. In the past five years,

Marriage Encounter has enjoyed rapid growth and

expansion across the country. Recognizing that

intimacy and communication are best worked out in

the encounter of persons, Marriage Encounter offers

couples a chance to encounter themselves as spouses,

and to encounter God in their status as married

couples, as people in love. The logical outreach of

Marriage Encounter is the ability of Christian families

to encounter other families and persons and to share

with them some measure of their love and intimacy.

The movement takes its name from the Encounter

Weekend, during which some 10 to 15 couples, guided

by a specially trained team, take part in a program

directed toward building communication between the

spouses.

Information on Encounter available from the

national office: Marriage Encounter. Suite 108, 10059

Manchester, Warson Woods, MO 63122.

Since not every couple is immediately inclined to

to make an Encounter Weekend, and since in some

areas facilities are not readily available, leaders of the

Marriage Encounter movement have developed a

series of other programs that can be made available to

a wider audience. Formats and recommendations for

the following programs are available from the

Marriage Encounter Resource Communty. These

programs are parish oriented, are for all couples,

whether or not they have made an Encounter, and can

be effectively worked out with good leadership.

• Marriage Course for High School Students. Involves

using couples and educators who can impart

positive attitudes on marriage and family life to

high school students. Stresses an informal approach

drawing insights from personal experience.

• Parenthood Conferences. An evening's conference

directed toward parents, conducted by parents who

have refined the various parenthood theories

through personal experience.

• Enrichment Programs for Married Couples and

Families. This involves a variety of programs to

help alert couples to the value of their personal

relationship, their responsibilities and effectiveness

as parents, their unique abilities to provide prepara-

tion for the sacraments to children and youth.

For information write: Marriage Encounter

Resource Communin', 295 Northern Blvd., Great

Neck, N.Y. 11021. Tel. 516/487-1940.

Bibliography and Resource Materials

Publications

Ball, John and Nancy, Joy in Human Sexuality,

Collegeville, Minn., Liturgical Press, 1975.

Bockle. F. ( ed. ) . The Future of Marriage as an

Institution. N.Y., Herder & Herder, 1970. Available

from: Seabury Press, 815 2nd Ave., New York, N.Y.

10017.

Dufresne. Edward R., Partnership: Marriage and the

Committed Life. Paramus, N.J., Paulist Press, 1975.

Ford. Edward E., Why Marriage?, Niles, 111., Argus,

1974.

Hanaghan. Jonathan, The Courage To Be Married,

St. Meinrad, Ind., Abbey Press, 1974.

McHugh. J. (ed.). Marriage in the Light of Vatican II,

Washington, D C., USCC Publications (1312 Mass.

Ave., N.W.), 1967.

Quesnell. Jack, Marriage: A Discovery Together, Notre

Dame. Ind., Fides, 1974.

Salz. Victor, Between Husband and Wife, Paramus, N.J.,

Paulist Press, 1972.

Scanzoni, J., Sexual Bargaining, N.Y., Prentice-Hall,

1972.

Yorburg, B., The Changing Family, N.Y., Columbia

Univ. Press, 1973.

Films

We Do, We Do, 1 1 min., color. Teleketics. Franciscan

Communications Center, 1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles,

Calif. 90015. Tel. 213/748-8331. Rental: $13; Purchase:

$150. Cat. No. 8075. First of a three-part series on

marriage ( You Haven't Changed a Bit and The Weekend

complete the series). Confronted by dire warnings from

friends and computers, a young couple getting married

consider what it really means to say “I do."

You Haven't Changed a Bit, 15 min., color, Teleketics.

Rental: $15: Purchase: $185. Cat. No. 8076. After

quarreling, a young married couple take separate

vacations with their parents, only to discover that though

shaped by their pasts, their real identity lies in their

future together.

16



Marriage

The Weekend, 15 min., color, Teleketics. Rental: $15;

Purchase: $185. Cat. No. 8077. A rained-out weekend
becomes a time of rediscovery for a middle-aged couple,

whose lack of communication during their married life

has driven them apart.

Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, 1 1 min., color,

Teleketics. Rental: $13; Purchase: $140. Cat. No. 8508.

A group of young people candidly talk about what they
think sex roles ought to be within marriage. Guaranteed

to elicit strong responses— especially from girls. Good
for an active discussion among high school students.

Not Together Now: End of a Marriage, 25 min., color.

Rent: $30; Purchase: $325. Polymorph Films, 331

Newbury St.. Boston, Mass. 021 15. Tel. 617/262-5960.

Good for discussion starter. Realistic interviews with a

presently separated couple who discuss why they married,

the events leading to the separation, children involved,

and the influence of the changing role of women on the

marriage.

Cassettes

St. Anthony Messenger Press’ 5-part cassette series on

Creative Marriage, by Clayton C. Barbeau, well-known

author and lecturer in the field of marriage and family

life. Includes (1) “Current Myths About Marriage,”

(2) “Communications in Marriage,” (3) “Sexuality in

Marriage,” (4) “Marriage: The Creative Task,” and

(5) “The Future of the Family.” Available from: St.

Anthony Messenger Press, 1615 Republic St., Cincinnati,

Ohio 45210. Tel.^5 13/241 -56 1 6. Cost: $5.95 ea„ $29.75

for the 5-part series. Over $25, allow 20% discount.

Postage additional, unless prepaid.

17



Social ComUtims

ttfhd

the family

The family, founded upon marriage freely contracted, one and

indissoluble, must be regarded as the natural, primary cell of human

society. The interests of the family, therefore, must be taken very

specially into consideration in social and economic affairs, as well as in

the spheres of faith and morals. For all of these have to do with

strengthening the family and assisting it in the fulfillment of its mission.

Pacem in Terris

There is almost universal agreement today that the

family is the basic social unit, on which the welfare

of individuals, as well as society itself, depends.

Twentieth century Catholic teaching has been quite

explicit in affirming that interest and concern for the

well-being of the family flow from a commitment to

human dignity and the well-being of the individual. It

has given equal emphasis to the fact that order and

stability in society are very much dependent on order

and stability in the family, so that society not only has

obligations to support family life but has reasons of

self-interest for doing so. The importance of the

family and society’s responsibility to sustain and

protect the family have also become major commit-

ments of the United Nations. The Universal Declara-

tion of Human Rights states that “the family is the

natural and fundamental unit of society and is

entitled to protection by society and the State.”

Because society is committed to the dignity and

well-being of each individual person, and because the

family is the primary human community in which the

individual person is born, nurtured and develops his or

her potential, society finds its own interests closely

tied to the stability of the family. Moreover, experi-

ence has shown that social forces and trends have a

serious impact on family functioning and family

relationships.

Thus, in setting priorities, in formulating social

policies, and in pursuing programs of social develop-

ment, society should give primary attention to the

needs of the family. The development of a national

family policy is one way in which government may

enable and assist the family to fulfill its own responsi-

bilities. A national family policy need not be complex

and detailed, but it should serve as a cornerstone for

other social legislation. As Daniel P. Moynihan

describes it:

A national family policy need only declare that it is

the policy of the American government to promote

the stability and well-being of the American family;

that the social programs of the federal government

will be formulated and administered with this object

in mind; and finally that the President, or some

person designated by him, perhaps the Secretary of

Health, Education and Welfare, will report to the

Congress on the condition of the American family

in all its many facets— not of the American family,
for there is yet no such thing, but rather of the great

range of American families in terms of regions,

national origins and economic status. (Cf. Daniel

P. Moynihan, Coping: On the Practice of Govern-

ment, N.Y. Random House, 1973, pp. 69-79.)

In keeping with an overall respect for human life,

and in line specifically with our concern for the family

as “the primary cell of human society,” we now turn

our attention to some of the economic and social

matters — and to the moral principles that should
guide decision-making— which pertain to efforts to
strengthen the family and assist it in the fulfillment of

its mission.

Economic Life

The economic order must be based upon recognition

of the fundamental dignity of the human person.

Human dignity derives from the fact that each person

has been called into existence by God and redeemed

18



Social Conditions Affecting Family Life

by Jesus Christ, and is therefore destined for super-

natural life and eternal union with God. Economic

sufficiency and material affluence alone cannot fulfill

the deepest longings of mankind, but they do provide

an appropriate atmosphere for the development of the

human person, as well as the pursuit of social justice

and spiritual growth. The family, then, is entitled to a

reasonable share of material goods and to a standard

of living that enables it to achieve intimacy, unity and

charity among its members. To achieve its goals the

family should enjoy certain basic freedoms. It must

be free from control or dominance by other institu-

tions; it must be free from material or psychological

pressures that limit its ability to function. Let us take

the current worldwide economic crisis as an example.

World leaders meet to discuss economic theories

and consider new economic policies or strategies, with

the hope of fine-tuning the world economy. The man

in the street may not understand the theories, but he

knows that inflation is diminishing his buying power,

that prices continue to rise, and that increasing

unemployment threatens his job. According to a public

opinion survey, at least half of the nation’s families

feel that the economic situation is now so unstable

that they can no longer control their own economic

problems.

In the economic and social realms, too, the dignity

and complete vocation of the human person and

the welfare of society as a whole are to be

respected and promoted. For man is the source,

the center, and the purpose of all economic and

social life.

Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

With the continuation of worldwide economic

instability, the poor suffer most. Subsistence and

indeed survival become impossible, and starvation and

disease violate the basic right to life.

In the developed nations, too, families feel the

economic crunch, and their way of life is often

seriously disrupted. Meeting existing financial obliga-

tions becomes difficult and sometimes impossible. Men

are forced to work two jobs, and mothers of small

children who would choose not to work outside the

home, are often forced to seek employment, to the

detriment of the marital relationship and their

respective roles as parents. Granted, many American

families have come to treat luxuries as necessities,

but this does not diminish the reality of the economic

instability that permeates family life and family

relationships. Indeed this economic problem has its

most damaging effects on the persons involved, for it

often creates emotional duress and tension which

disrupt family harmony.

The United Nations has called for a new world

economic order that meets the needs of people in

developing nations as well as those that are materially

successful. But serious questions must be faced in

constructing a just and equitable economic order. How

do we eliminate poverty and discrimination while

committed to an economic system built on capitalism,

individualism and free competition? How can we

maintain the value of human life while allocating

many of our resources to armaments and readiness for

war? Clearly, the establishment of a new economic

order demands struggling with these questions as well

as a new commitment to human dignity and the

stability of the family.

Employment/Income

A family’s standard of living is generally dependent
on its income. For the vast majority of people, work

is the source of income and future financial security.

The church's social teaching has always emphasized

that the worker is entitled to a just wage, that is, a

wage sufficient to give the worker and his family a

standard of living in keeping with human dignity. The

church does not consider a “just wage” to be simply

an equitable payment for one person’s labor; rather, in

the overall economic order, it considers a just wage to

be one calculated to support the worker and his or

her family.

However, wages have generally reflected the

amount of work, the skill of the worker, the length

of employment, and the position held by the worker.

Now, in many industrialized nations, where working

conditions and wages have been equalized, something

on an imbalance exists. Larger numbers of the work

force are unmarried. Married and single persons

receive the same wage, with the result that families

bear a disproportionate share of the financial burden

of supporting the next generation. In too many cases a

man must moonlight or a woman must work outside

the home so that the family can meet its living costs.

One way of equalizing the financial burden and pro-

viding special assistance to families at the lowest

income level is a family allowance system.

At any rate, income is but one aspect of work. The

worker is also entitled to decent working conditions

and to a feeling of dignity.

Every man has the right to work, ... to equitable

remuneration which will enable him and his

family ‘to lead a worthy life on the material,

social, cultural and spiritual level’ and to

assistance in case of need arising from sickness

or age.

A Call to Action

Two of the most important things in people’s lives

are what they do — i.e., their work — and who cares
about them and their accomplishments. There is

abundant evidence that when a person’s job is stulti-

fying, frustrating or unrewarding, his or her work

performance suffers. Worse than that, the person

19



Social Conditions Affecting Family Life

tends to lose self-esteem, and in time may give up

working and become delinquent in terms of other

responsibilities. It is important that government and

industry try to eliminate dead-end jobs and generally

improve working conditions, particularly in blue-

collar jobs. But it is also important that American

business take the white collar worker’s family life into

consideration and treat it with respect and regard. For

example, continual relocation, constant travel, treating

the employee as a possession of the company are

practices that disrupt family life and destroy personal

stability. Everyone needs some leisure and solitude to

think, relax, and share the experiences of family

growth.

In addition, there are still too many people who

simply cannot find employment. Moreover, there are

some— such as migrant farm workers — who are
expected to work at low wages, to bend to agricultural

exigencies, and to labor in trying and often dangerous

working conditions. At every point, their family life

is endangered. It is a credit to the church in the

United States that it has utilized its own resources to

improve the lives and working conditions of these

people.

There are abundant research data to prove that

unemployment and job uncertainty are major causes

of family disorganization, particularly among the poor.

This frequently leads to desertion, and to an increase

in the number of fatherless families on welfare. The

fracturing of the poor family inevitably leads to youth

problems— school dropouts, drug use and criminal
activity.

At the same time, most unemployed male heads of

poor families are not lazy or irresponsible. There is

abundant evidence that when people are given the

choice to work, they tend to work and lead more

organized lives. The availability of a suitable job is

generally sufficient to get a person to work, and often

it is incentive enough to undergo job training. One of

the answers to the “welfare problem” is the avail-

ability of jobs, not for welfare mothers, but for the

fathers of welfare children. In fact, forcing the welfare

mother to work outside the home may only lead to

greater family disorganization.

The special Health, Education and Welfare

Department Task Force on Work in America con-

cluded that the key to reducing family dependency on

government lies in offering the main provider an

opportunity to work full time at a living wage.

Increasing job opportunities is not simply a govern-

ment responsibility, but should be borne in part by

private industry. To encourage such cooperation, the

Task Force recommended employer tax incentives for

hiring, training and upgrading workers from tradi-

tionally low-employment groups. Correspondingly,

better tax breaks for low income families will

encourage a more determined work effort. Further-

more, a good share of the resulting income can be

expected to be spent in low-income areas, thus

stimulating commerce and producing more jobs.

Specifically, a cooperative long-range effort by govern-

ment and private industry would include:

• Adoption of educational policies at the local level

to increase the employability of the disadvantaged.

• Expansion of on-the-job training.

• Acceleration of the training, placement, and promo-

tion of the disadvantaged.

• Assumption by employers of responsibility for

insuring that transportation systems link their

establishments with low-income neighborhoods.

The Task Force does not have all the answers, but

it recommends policies and strategies that will not

only provide jobs, but will also improve the stability

of family fife for many of the nation’s poor.

Housing and the Family

The insufficiency of housing to meet the needs of

families seems to be a worldwide phenomenon. Poor

housing has an adverse effect on family stability. In

many nations, young couples must live with parents

or family because there is no housing available, or at

least not available at a reasonable price. In some

cases the housing units are so small or poorly con-

structed that privacy and intimacy are impossible.

Although the American ideal is private ownership of

the single-family house, relatively few houses are

being built, and those that are very often are high-

priced or are in areas distant from the city. Moreover,

new housing developments frequently involve the

hidden cost of future tax rises for sewer development,

police and fire protection, schools and other social

services.

It is in fact the weakest who are the victims of

dehumanizing living conditions, degrading for

conscience and harmful for the family institution.

The promiscuity of working people’s housing

makes a minimum of intimacy impossible; young

couples waiting in vain for a decent dwelling at

a price they can afford are demoralized and their

union can thereby even be endangered; youth

escape from a home which is too confined and

seek in the streets compensations and companion-

ships which cannot be supervised. It is the grave

duty of those responsible to strive to control this

process and to give it direction.

A Call to Action

Yet the single largest expenditure a typical family

makes is the purchase of a home. The amount of the

annual family budget devoted to housing is second

only to food. In metropolitan America the general

pattern is for a young couple to initially rent an

apartment, and after some years and the birth of the

first or second child to look forward to buying a home.

Frequently, the apartment rental has been costly,

20



Social Conditions Affecting Family Life

involving the accumulation of no equity and no

savings to buy a house. Moreover, the family is often

forced to buy their home in an outlying suburb which

increases the cost of commuting and general trans-

portation. The general indicators of house ownership

are family income, age and education of the family

head, and size of the family. And, as noted, inflation

and recession have meant that housing construction

has fallen off and that very little home building is

taking place.

But couples and families should have adequate

housing. Adequate housing not only involves basic

shelter, but also the building of community among

families, accessibility to stores, schools, churches and

parks or other recreational areas. Quite obviously,

housing policies are only one aspect of community

and regional planning, which must also take into

account the total needs of families.

Housing is a problem for middle-income families,

but it is generally a crisis for the poor. So-called

public housing has often been a qualified success at

best and an unqualified failure at worst. The poor are

frequently unable to afford anything other than

substandard housing.

No one seems to have the answer to housing

policy or strategies. However, the National Conference

of Catholic Charities has formulated the following

recommendations to guide the development of housing

policy:

• Recognition of decent housing as a basic human

right.

• Legislation designed to increase the housing supply

in accordance with the goals of the 1949 and 1968

Housing Acts, with programs and appropriations

designed to achieve measurable annual goals.

• Design of specific housing programs, apart from an

income strategy, to provide housing for low-income

individuals and families, and for the elderly, and

the handicapped of all ages, in a decent, humane

setting, respecting the right to mobility, and free

choice of housing location regardless of income,

race, religion, age or other personal or family

characteristics frequently provoking discrimination

in our society.

• Housing programs which insure more than mere

physical shelter, which are a part of a total environ-

ment, which include social and community services

designed for the enrichment, growth and comfort

of persons and families.

• Federal encouragement of state and local housing

finance and development agencies aimed particu-

larly at provision of housing for low income families,

the elimination of substandard and over-crowded

housing, the integration of economic development

with housing development.

• Adequate operating subsidies for existing public

housing stock and the reinstitution of the public

housing modernization program, funded at levels

equal to the need, to remedy deterioration. Also,

an expansion of the public housing leasing program

involving new construction as well as existing

housing stock.

Health Care for Families

The right to “bodily integrity,” enunciated by Pope

John XXI 1 1 in Peace on Earth, is the basis for

assuring adequate health care to every person.

Although scientific research and medical technology

have enabled mankind to conquer many fatal diseases,

many people still die each year because they do not

receive adequate health care. In developed nations,

like the United States, it is due to the lack of avail-

ablity of medical care. By “lack of availability” we

mean the inaccessibility of health services and/or the

relatively high cost of health care for the ordinary

person.

It is often said that the best health care is avail-

able in our country to the very rich and the very poor

alike. The ordinary family, however, finds that a

debilitating disease or the need for special surgery

can quickly exhaust the family’s financial resources

and create a variety of problems within the family.

Consequently, national health care policies should be

directed toward assisting families to obtain adequate

health care. Present efforts to establish a national

health insurance program should ultimately be bene-

ficial to all families.

To watch over man’s health and improve it, to

prevent disorders and cure them should they

arise: is that not dedication to the service of life,

the Creator’s first gift to man? This life is the

source of joy when it springs forth, the beginning

of a destiny that is unique each time and always

admirable, whether it appears so or not, since it

is called to bloom in endless happiness! That is

why the professions devoted to bodily health

carry out a noble and redoubtable task, and

constitute one of the loftiest vocations in the

service of man.

Pope Paul VI to the World Health Organization

The family has an active role to play in maintain-

ing good health. Adequate health care includes health

education, preventive health care, treatment of disease,

therapy, and long-term health care. The responsibility

for health education and preventive care can be met

to a large degree within the family. So, too, some

kinds of treatment or therapy can be handled by the

family under the direction of a physician. The long-

term care of the elderly and chronically ill— once the
primary responsibility of the family — has gradually
become institutionalized. However, ways could be

found to combine the resources of the family and

21



Social Conditions Affecting Family Life

professional health care facilities so that care and

therapy could be provided for many people within the

family. Family members can be taught to care for the

sick, elderly and chronically ill. They are also

uniquely able, in most cases, to provide the acceptance

and compassion that are often more beneficial than

institutionalized care. Moreover, given proper training

and supervision, the family will derive benefit for

itself from exercising charity toward its own sick and

aging members.

Conclusion

We have considered some of the economic and social
factors that influence family life. In our complex

society, many of these factors are interconnected.

Thus, an individual family may simultaneously feel the

effects of inflation, unemployment, and the need for

special health care. What is needed are not simply

more social programs, but, rather, the formulation and

implementation of policies directed primarily at

supporting family life, and the integration of social

programs that will in fact meet the needs of all families.

Although the state has a rightful concern for the

social and economic needs of families and individuals,

psychological and spiritual needs, as well as the need

for human acceptance, are usually better met within

the family. The total well-being of the individual,

then, is best served when society supports and com-

plements the family, so that it can achieve this end.

Program Suggestions

Economics and the Family Budget

As an object lesson in how economics affects the

family, let’s look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics’

budget for a family of four in the United States. Each

year the Bureau publishes a set of “urban family

budgets,” that is, the amount of money an urban

family of four people needs to live at three different

standards of living: high, intermediate, and low. The

hypothetical family consists of a 38-year-old husband,

a wife who is not employed outside the home, and

two children aged 13 and 18. The budget covers

necessary living expenses, including insurance, but

makes no allowance for savings. In November, 1974,

the budgets were:

Higher Range $20,777

Intermediate Range 14,333

Lower Range 9,198

Let us look more closely at the intermediate

budget, which represents the more typical family at a

moderate standard of living. This budget presumes

that the family owns a small home, bought six years

earlier, on which it is making mortgage payments. The

family generally owns a secondhand automobile,

ordinary home appliances, has a telephone and TV
set, and subscribes to a hospital-surgical plan

through the man’s employment. Here is how the pie

is divided.

The budget calculates expenses and shows what

is needed to live, but there is no assurance that the

wage-earner’s income does in fact meet the budget. In

many cases it does not. Then people must live at a

lower standard, or else they must live in debt. More-

over, inflation can easily diminish actual spending

power.

Parish Community Service Program

This program, developed by Catholic Charities of the

Archdiocese of Chicago, is an effort to involve the

parish — its resources and personnel — in meeting
the needs of some of its own members. Parishes taking

part in the program employ their own Coordinator,

who works with a volunteer staff. Family Services and

Services to the Aged arc the primary areas of activity.

The Diocesan Charities Office provides training of

personnel and serves as a back-up agency for the

parishes. The purposes of the program are:

• To develop awareness among adult members of a

parish of the needs of people in their neighborhood.

The awareness generates a sense of responsibility

on the part of the community to employ its own

resources and utilize other community resources to

provide needed services.

• To develop a leadership that will look beyond local

needs to changing those situations that create social

problems.

The program is a cooperative effort of priests,

parish council, lay leadership, professional coordinator

and voluntary staff. It is an attempt to extend the

resources of the local church to those most in need.

Additional information is available from: Catholic

Charities, Archdiocese of Chicago, 645 W. Randolph

St., Chicago, 111. 60606.

Bibliography and Resources

American Families: Trends and Pressures, 1973. Report

of the Hearings of the Senate Subcommittee on Children

22



Social Conditions Affecting Family Life

and Youth, Sept. 24-26, 1973. Washington, D.C.,

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Cat. No. Y4.L 11/2:

F21/6. Cost: $3.05 (must be prepaid).

Campaign for Human Development, Poverty in Amer-

ican Democracy, Washington, D.C., USCC Publications,

1974. A sourcebook of information on poverty.

Cost: $1.50.

Morgan, et al., Five Thousand American Families—
Patterns of Economic Programs, 3 vols., Institute for

Social Research, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, Mich.

48106. Cost: combined vols. 1 & 2, $9.50; vol. 3, $7; all

three for $14.50 [paper],

Sheldon, Eleanor (ed.), Family Economic Behavior:

Problems and Prospects, Phila. Lippincott, 1973.

Cost: $15 (hard cover only).

Films

For God’s Sake, 5 min., color, telespot. Interviews with

the poor, with special emphasis on children and the

elderly. Teleketics, Franciscan Communications Center,

1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90015. Rental: $8;

Purchase: $65. Cat. No. 8151.

Listen, Man, 60 sec. telespot. Shows what happens when

the mutual family concerns of husband and wife take a

back seat to harassed bill-paying and the demands of the

husband’s job. Teleketics. Cost: $18. Cat. No. 8716.

Rat Race, 60 sec. telespot. Executive finds himself a

stranger in his own home because of the time he spent

in the “rat race” of travel and work. Teleketics. Cost:

$18. Cat. No. 8724.

Contact, 1 1 min., color. Documentary approach to

contemporary ministry. Rewards and problems of

encountering Christ in the inner city. Teleketics. Rental:

$13; Purchase: $150. Cat. No. 8004.

Today’s Children, 30 sec. telespot. Weary expressions of

the poor juxtaposed with the expectant faces of their

children. Teleketics. Cost: $12. Cat. No. 8739.

23



Children,

As living members of the family, children contribute in their own way to

making their parents holy. For they will respond to the kindness of their

parents with sentiments of gratitude, with love and trust. They will stand

by them as children should when hardships overtake their parents and

old age brings its loneliness.

Constitution on the Church in the

Modern World

The way a nation treats children tells much about its

regard for human dignity. Although it has been

customary to situate responsibility for the birth and

rearing of children in the family, nevertheless, the

state or social and economic structures have historically

had more to say about the rules pertaining to child-

hood than the family or parents.

In recent years, a new attitude has been developing

— an attitude which regards the child as a person with
rights of his or her own, protectable by law before as

well as after birth. The UN Declaration on the Rights
of the Child specifically extended the rights and

freedoms of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights to the child, so that “he may have a happy

childhood and enjoy for his own good the rights and

freedoms” generally accorded to adults.

At present, there is widespread concern in our

society for the rights of children, and for laws and

policies based on “the best interests of the child.” It

is difficult to predict where this concern will lead,

since the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of personhood

to unborn children, the recent efforts to re-institute

child labor, and the significant incidence of child

abuse and child neglect violate the rights and

interests of the child.

But efforts to insure basic rights for children are

based on the recognition that the child is indeed a

person, and not simply a possession of the state or of

parents. In order to contribute to the growing dialogue

on the child, we will focus on a theology of childhood,

the child as subject of rights, and specific examples of

threats to the child’s welfare.

Theology of Childhood

Christianity has always held the child in high esteem.

By insisting on infant baptism it has given the child

equal status with all others in the Christian commu-

nity. Yet a theology of childhood has never developed.

In one of his theological investigations, Karl Rahner

has reflected on childhood, in the hope of providing

insights for parents and those who work with children.

Customarily, we look at the adult person, and then

affirm of the child what we believe of the adult.

Rahner insists that from the beginning the child is in

possession of that value and those depths which are

implied in the name of man. This section will correlate

Rahner's insights with the information we have from

child development and the behavioral sciences.

First of all, the child is a human being. He or she

is one of us. Science enables us to trace the biological

heritage of the human infant back through the stages

of uterine life to his or her biological parents. Biology

docs not determine personhood, but it does establish,

for each human being, a basic relationship with all

humanity. Yet from the moment of conception the

child is also genetically unique, different from every

other individual who also possesses a human nature.

At every stage of life, the child is developing his or her

physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual

capabilities. These are as much a part of the child's

heritage as identification with parents, family, nation-

ality and social status.

Childhood, then, is one stage of human existence.

The unborn fetus, the infant, the young child is from

the outset the same person he or she will be recognized

as when reaching adult status. From the outset, the

24



Children

child possesses the value and the depths of all that is

implied in the term “person,” and has the potential

for all that will subsequently develop. With the

support of parents, family and society, the child

travels the course of self-discovery, self-realization and

self-fulfillment. The whole process of growth and

development is nothing more for each child than a

gradual realization of who he or she is.

But childhood is for children. For each of us,

childhood is a stage in our personal history with events

and accomplishments unique to that time. For every

child, childhood is the period of rapid growth and

development, the time of discovery, the time of fantasy

and mystery. Adults must try to recognize the value

of childhood and understand children by reflecting on

their own experience as children. They must learn

from children what childhood is all about. This, above

all else, enables us to see the child as a person, and to

know the unique problems that children experience.

It enables us to bring to the child the resources of the

adult world and the Christian community.

It is important to realize that children trust adults

and give adults important status. The child’s problems

differ from those of the adult, but they are no less

important or compelling. One of the recurrent themes

in discussions with children is that adults should

realize that children have feelings, that they can be

hurt deeply by non-recognition, by rejection, or by

constantly being treated as subordinates whose

problems are always secondary to those of adults.

The child is also a child of God. The term is

applied metaphorically to all Christians, but it has

special meaning in the more restricted sense in which

it is applied to children. Childhood has special signif-

icance in God’s plan of salvation, and the child has a

special relationship with God as One who loves him.

The child may well learn of creation, redemption and

eternal happiness through more or less formal religious

instruction. But the child learns of God’s love through

parents and family. It is important to emphasize the

love of father and mother as reflecting the total love

of God. The child’s sense of wonder and awe, his

openness to all that is new and mysterious, enable the

child to formulate a special relationship with God. In

contrast with adults, the child’s view of the future is

usually more optimistic, more full of hope.

But most importantly, the child (and the adult)

can learn from the Gospel narratives of Christ’s rela-

tionship with children. Jesus places children in a

favored position and gives them a special place among

those who believe in Him. Our Lord praises the

openness and innocence of children, and speaks with

indignation of those who would threaten them. Jesus

treats the child as a child, not merely as an adult-to-be.

He commends the child’s ability to learn, the child’s

trust and confidence, and the child’s humility. Finally,

Jesus pays attention to children, and in blessing them,

proclaims their right to future existence.

The Rights of Children

The more that the child’s pcrsonhood and individuality

are acknowledged, the more we are led to consider the

child’s rights. In recent years a good deal has been

written about the rights of the child, primarily to set

the stage for legal protection and for specific social

programs to benefit children. The UN Declaration on

the Rights of the Child provides the most compre-

hensive listing of children's rights. It highlights the

responsibilities of society and of specific groups to

insure that children do in fact enjoy such rights. For

our discussion, we will center attention on some of

the most basic rights as they apply to children.

The Right to Life. The right to life extends to the

entire process of human growth and development.

Prenatal care of the mother as well as the child,

proper neonatal care for the newborn, and pediatric

care throughout childhood are means of insuring the

right to life in the early years. Adequate nutrition,

special therapeutic care for the sick or disadvantaged

child, clean air and a healthy environment enable the

child to develop his or her physical and mental

faculties.

The right to life includes personal security and

requires legal protection. By personal security we

mean that the child should be protected from destruc-

tive and harmful actions, or from situations that will

endanger his life or his safety. This protection of the

law should be present from conception onward. The

child should be protected from abortion and infanti-

cide, child abuse and neglect, from the effects of

harmful drugs, noxious chemicals, lead poisoning.

Special programs of accident protection should be

directed to children and their parents. A good example

is the effort to protect children from automobile

accidents by imposing special speed limits in school

zones. And child labor laws have traditionally been

designed to prohibit exploitation of children.

Society should also take measures to see to it that

children do not become the victims of violence, social

upheaval, prejudice or exploitation. For instance, the

continued conflict in Northern Ireland seems to be

especially destructive for children, although they may

not be the immediate victims of the bombings, killings

or violent acts. In the United States, portrayals of

violence in the movies and on TV are especially
damaging to children.

The Right to Acceptance and Freedom. Every

child is entitled to an environment in which he or she

is accepted as a person, and given the love, affection,

human support and recognition appropriate to mem-

bership in the human community. Ordinarily, these

qualities are provided by the family, and society

should assist the family in providing this care. Accept-

ance of the child as a person presumes security and

responsibility on the part of parents. In some cases

parents need special assistance to enable them to

fulfill their roles and responsibilities.

The child has the right to a secure environment

25



Children

even if his parents cannot or will not provide it. Thus

adoption, foster care, institutionalized care and special

programs of family assistance for children with special

needs should be expanded to insure that the shelter,

care and compassion ordinarily found in the family

unit will be readily available to all children.

Freedom always implies responsibility and duty.

In the cases of children, freedom should expand and

disciplinary control decrease as the child grows older

and becomes better able to make prudent decisions

and to assume responsibilities and dudes. But absolute

freedom and absence of all restraint can be harmful

for the child because they do not help him develop the

necessary self-restraint.

A proper understanding of freedom for the child

involves expanding the child’s horizons and visions, so

that he or she may aspire to and achieve a place in

the human family appropriate to his or her talents and

abilities. The UN Declaration on the Rights of the

Child sums it up well in stating that the child “shall

be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance,

friendship among peoples, peace and universal brother-

hood and in full consciousness that his energy and

talents should be devoted to the service of his

fellowmen.”

The Right to the Means Necessary and Suitable

for the Proper Development of Life. Basic to insuring

equal access to the means necessary and suitable for

personal development is the establishment of a just

and equitable social and economic order. An unjust

social and economic system promotes inequities and

disparities, and children are often most victimized by

such a system. Justice, equality of opportunity, non-

discrimination in the treatment of children can only be

insured when there is “liberty and justice for all.”

Within a just and harmonious society, there should

also be an effort to make certain that the special needs

of children are met. Although the United States does

not suffer from a shortage of food, many persons—
especially children — suffer from poor nutrition.
Housing facilities should be designed with children in

mind, and with a view to the harmonious mixing of

persons of all ages as well as of various ethnic and

racial backgrounds. Some families need special assist-

ance and adequate social services, rehabilitation

programs, and physical and mental health facilities

should be available in the best interests of children

and families.

Perhaps most important for the child's develop-

ment arc educational and recreational facilities.

Education includes parenthood training, early child-

hood education, schools and appropriate facilities for

the development of special talents and abilities.

Libraries, parks and recreational facilities, museums

and cultural centers enable the child to learn and

appreciate the accomplishments of his forebearers.

Despite massive commitments of funds to education,

many school systems arc inadequate or ineffective,

particularly in major cities. Moreover, the emphasis

on obtaining a college degree has not resulted in a

population whose learning is truly proportionate to

the amount of formal education available.

The educational system should be reexamined and

its resources re-focused on enabling children to learn,

to think, to make responsible decisions and judgments.

Education should prepare children for life. Moreover,

the public philosophy governing educational policy

must recognize the fundamental right of children to

religious education and moral training as an inherent

part of their personal development. Denying financial

aid to religious schools is not a necessary and logical

conclusion of pluralism and religious freedom. Nor is

the denial of practically all auxiliary services to

children in religious schools compatible with a commit-

ment to equality of opportunity for all.

Situations That Threaten the Child’s Welfare

Unfortunately, enduring threats to the welfare of

children exist in our nation. It is our intention here to

focus on one specific area— child abuse — because
it is symptomatic of other threats, and because the

determined efforts of some dedicated people have led

to considerable progress in overcoming the problem.

Conservative estimates indicate that about 700

children are killed each year by their parents or

guardians. In 1974 there were 24,000 suspected

incidents of child abuse and neglect in New York City

alone, with more than 19,000 incidents reported —
almost double the number for 1972. Yet there is no

clear, universally acceptable definition of child abuse,

and although it comes to light more now than in the

past, we have no real basis for comparison.

The most common description of child abuse

involves physically violent acts against a child that

result in death or physical harm — cuts, bruises,
burns, bites, broken bones, starvation and brain or

internal injuries. Psychiatrists would also include

certain types of emotional or psychological punish-

ment or deprivation in the category of child abuse.

The description can be broadened to include system-

atic deprivation or abusive attitudes directed toward a

child, or a total environment that is hostile to child

development.

For the most part, however, child abuse means

specific activity by an adult toward a child that results

in diagnosable physical or psychological harm to the

child. Dr. Vincent J. Fontana of the New York

Foundling Hospital’s Center for Parent and Child

Development, a nationally recognized expert in child

abuse, notes that although there is a difference

between abuse and neglect, the difference is very often

negligible.

In his book Somewhere a Child Is Crying, Dr.

Fontana provides considerable information on child

abuse and describes some programs that can help

abusing parents and their children. Dr. Fontana notes

the following characteristics of child abuse beyond the

actual injury. The child is often below three years of

age, and the abuse is usually recurrent, though

frequently not reported or discovered. The violence is

26



Children

committed by one or both parents or someone whom

they allow to abuse the child. The parents are

frequently troubled people who need help themselves,

who do not want to harm their children, who fear

others and who often claim ignorance about the child’s

injuries. Dr. Fontana estimates that half of the battered

children returned to the parents without any help will

ultimately die of child abuse.

Only in the past 20 years has there been a system-

atic study of child abuse, its causes, and attempts to

prevent it by treatment programs. Physicians began to

find an increased incidence of young children with

serious injuries, which led to searching for causes. Dr.

Henry Kempe of Colorado described his findings to

the medical profession and coined the term “the

battered-child syndrome.” Doctors DeFrancis,

Fontana, Heifer, Stede and others have contributed

to a better understanding of child abuse by their

writings in the medical literature. Dr. David Gil

correlated child abuse with studies of violence. And

Senator Walter Mondale held congressional hearings

and sponsored legislation to provide money to support

treatment and prevention programs dealing with child

abuse.

As a result, some new insights have been achieved.

Abusing parents often were abused children; violence

toward children is part of a person’s overall inclination

toward violence; most abuse does not begin as willful

violence; many abusing parents want to stop their

abusive activity.

Some social theorists claim that abused children

are unwanted children, resulting from the unavail-

ability of family planning and abortion. It is argued

that by eliminating unwanted children, we will elimi-

nate child abuse. As Dr. Fontana notes, this argument

“might be a wonderfully real solution, if it were not

so sweeping and simplistic, or if it were only valid

. . . The assumption that every battered child is an

unwanted child, or that most or even a large majority

of abused children are unwanted children, is totally

false.” Other specialists agree with Dr. Fontana in

rejecting the “unwanted child” argument, which

distracts attention from the real causes and possibilities

of correcting the increasing incidence of child abuse.

Perhaps one of the most important conclusions

reached by those dealing with child abuse is that a

common characteristic of abusing parents is very low

self-esteem. These parents tend to project their feelings

of inadequancy and self-hatred onto their children, but

in fact they want their children to love and rely on

them, as evidenced when supportive family services

are made available to them.

It is this insight that is the key to the Temporary

Shelter program at the New York Foundling Hospital’s

Center for Parent and Child Development. The

program attempts to help parents cope with the child

and the stresses and strains that lead to child abuse.

Parents (mostly mothers) come to live at the

Foundling Hospital along with their children for a

period of four months. The staff of professionals and

para-professionals works with the mothers, teaching

them “parenting” and helping them to know them-

selves better. Dr. Fontana says the children give the

parents a sense of purpose in life, and the program

tries to keep mothers and children together. Each

mother is given her own “mother surrogate,” a mature

woman who has been successful as a mother. The

assistant accompanies the mother in shopping, doing

chores, and taking care of the child. By association

and example the abusing mother learns how to be a

successful mother herself.

The Foundling Hospital program has enjoyed

reasonable success, and has been able to rehabilitate

mothers and children and return them to the commu-

nity, with no further child abuse or neglect occurring.

Other instances of keeping mothers and children

together have also proved encouraging.

Conclusion

The USCC statement on Children: Their Value and

Destiny, provides an appropriate conclusion to this

section:

“Parenthood is one of the most challenging and

rewarding of all human relationships. Christian

parents are called to a prophetic mission, to witness

by their love and generosity to the primacy of life.

The sacrifices parents make in bearing and raising

children are a powerful testimony of their fidelity and

their hopefulness.

“But even in the face of an uncertain future, most

young couples still look positively and hopefully

toward parenthood. They see each child as an

individual person, capable of bringing new hope and

happiness to the entire human family.

“This is the moment in history when all of society

must affirm its belief in the worth and significance of

children, and the contribution they make to the human

family. In God's providence, a child is able to love, to

relate personally with others, and to pursue his destiny,

both temporal and eternal.

“It is to the good of society and of the family that

the rights of children be respected and protected by

law. Moreover, it is a matter of justice toward the

child. Accordingly, we urge a careful look at our

whole fabric of law to redress the inequities that

deprive children of their rights, and to establish a legal

system that gives every child his basic human rights

and the opportunities to fulfill those rights in dignity

and freedom.”

Program Suggestions

Parents of Pre-Schoolers Program

The Total Child

The Parents of Pre-Schoolers Program, developed by

the Family Life Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New

Orleans, has two phases:

• Phase I is the Parents of Pre-Schoolers Program,

comprised of six conferences held at designated

27



Children

parishes throughout the archdiocese. The confer-

ences involve lectures by specialists in various areas

of child development, followed by discussion. A
program manual is available.

• Phase II, The Total Child, is a parish followup

program that centers around small discussion

groups involved in an exchange of ideas. The

groups meet four times, discussing the topics out-

lined in the discussion manual. The Total Child. A
leader’s manual is available for group leaders.

The entire program is designed to be run monthly

for ten months. It can be adapted to suit the needs of

a parish, and The Total Child can be used over a

shorter time span as a separate program. If so, it

should be initiated by at least one lecture session, and

amplified by directing the participants to selected

readings.

Manuals and information available from: Family

Life Apostolate, Archdiocese of New Orleans, 7887

Walmsley Ave., New Orleans, La. 70125.

Education for Parenthood

Education for Parenthood is a joint project of the

Office of Education and the Office of Child Develop-

ment, U.S. Dept, of Health, Education and Welfare.

Exploring Childhood is a one-year elective course

for teenage boys and girls— adaptable to the needs
of adolescents of various cultural backgrounds.

Students spend part of their time in the classroom

learning about child development, the needs of

children, and family relationships through especially

prepared workbooks, films, and audio-cassettes. They

then go to child care centers to work with young

children under the supervision of their own teacher

and a pre-school teacher. Parents of students and of

the young children are involved in the program.

Because no single parenthood education course

will fit every situation and needs vary from community

to community and state to state, the Office of Educa-

tion and the Office of Child Development can also

provide information about other approaches that

schools might use in developing their own program.

A report has been published describing a number

of these programs, and a second booklet includes

suggestions for planning an Education For Parenthood

course. These booklets and additional illustrative

materials are available for use by school systems

wishing to initiate parenthood education programs or

improve existing programs.

For more information, school systems, universities,

and educational organizations should write to: W.

Stanley Kruger, Education for Parenthood Project,

Office of Education, Rm. 2181, 400 Maryland Ave.,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202. Non-cducational

organizations and the general public should write to:

Sidney Rosendorf, Education and Parenthood Project,

Division of Public Education, Office of Child Develop-

ment, P.O. Box 1 182, Washington, D.C. 20013.

Temporary Shelter Program

Temporary Shelter Program of the New York

Foundling Hospital’s Center for Parent and Child

Development. This program is an innovative approach

to the problem of child maltreatment combining

psychiatric, medical and social services in the treat-

ment of the mother (family whenever possible) and

the child. It is the only comprehensive in- and out-

patient abuse and neglect program in the United

States. It opened in September 1972, with the

following objectives:

• To prevent separation of parents and child when-

ever possible.

• To prevent the placement of children in institutions.

• To encourage the attainment of self-care status on

the part of parents.

• To stimulate the attainment of self-sufficiency for

the family unit.

• To prevent further abuse or neglect by removing

children from families who show an unwillingness

or inability to profit from the treatment program.

There are four components in the program:

• Multidisciplinary team approach — professionals
and non-professionals.

• Engagement of the surrogate mothers or “lay

therapists.’’

• “Hotline” or “Lifeline” service for crisis situations.

• In-resident facility for mother and child.

The multidisciplinary team approach provides

comprehensive medical, psychiatric and social services

to both parents and children. The professional staff,

the housemothers and the para-professionals (social

work assistants) coordinate their skills and expertise

in providing treatment, rehabilitation, and preventive

measures through actual demonstration of how to

“mother” while “being mothered” at the same time.

The para-professionals who live in the community

where the patients come from serve as the surrogate

mothers to the patients. This helps the patients to

experience maternal interest and concern while

learning mothering skills.

An integral element of the “surrogate mother”

service, Hotline, is provided between the patients and

the surrogate mothers, so that someone is available to

them via telephone or a home visit when the patients

need someone to talk to, to ventilate their feelings,

someone to listen to them. (So, instead of projecting

onto their children and taking it out on them in the

form of abuse, they have the “surrogate mothers” to

turn to.)

On a wider scale is a hotline at the agency manned

by treatment personnel on a 24-hour basis. Anybody

can call directly or in behalf of a parent, and these

calls are carefully monitored in order to provide

28



Children

instant service, which may be referral to another type

of facility, or an intake interview for admission of the

parent and child to the program as an out-patient or

in-patient.

Both the in-patient component and the out-patient

are located on the fifth floor of the New York

Foundling Hospital. The patients for the in-house

facility are chosen on a very selective basis so as to

avoid uprooting or breaking up a family unit for

placement. Mothers with two or three children are

able to enter the resident program. The child who has

been abused remains with the mother, but provisions

are made for the other children placed in the nursery

to interact with them and receive appropriate services.

In rare cases where a father is involved, although he

doesn’t enter the resident facility, he receives services

as well.

Individual, group and family therapy by psychia-

trists, psychologists, and psychiatric social workers,

chemotherapy by psychiatrists, a broad range of

pediatric medical and social services including nursery

and day care, lay therapy by para-professionals who

act as surrogate mothers, provision of concrete services

where needed, and child care education for the

mothers are all essential and integral components of

the program.

Bibliography and Resources

Publications

Aries, P., Centuries of Childhood, N.Y., Random House,

1962, paper.

Callahan, Sydney, Parenting: Principles and Politics of

Parenthood, N.Y., Doubleday, 1973.

DeMause, L. (ed.), The History of Childhood, N.Y.,

Harper & Row, 1974.

Fontana, Vincent J., Somewhere A Child Is Crying, N.Y.,

Macmillan, 1973.

Gil, David G., Violence Against Children, 1970,

Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Univ. Press.

Jamison, Andrew, Liturgies for Children, Cincinnati, St.

Anthony Press, 1975, $2.45 paper.

O’Neil, D., What Do You Say to a Child When You

Meet a Flower?, St. Meinrad, Ind., Abbey Press, 1972,

95<t, paper.

Rahner, K., Theological Investigations, Vol. 8, N.Y.,

Herder & Herder, 1971. Available from Seabury Press,

815 2nd Ave., New York 10017. $10.95.

Wakin, Edward, The Battle for Childhood, St. Meinrad,

Ind., Abbey Press, 1973, $2.25

Films

Hello Up There, 8 min., color, animation. Out of the

mouths of babes -—comments on how they see the world.
Most comments focus on parent/child communication.

Good for parents and teachers to show how children see

them. Mass Media Ministeries, 2116 N. Charles St.,

Baltimore, Md. 21218. Tel. 301/727-3270. Rent: $15;

Purchase: $135.

Nobody Important, 1 1 min., color. A young boy, disturbed
by the lack of communication, consideration and warmth

in his parents’ relationships with each other and with

him, wanders away, feeling he is “nobody important.”

Film shows the need of young children for parental love

and support. Teleketics, Franciscan Communications

Center, 1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90015.

Rental: $15; Purchase: $150.

Parenthood: Training Before Trouble, 20 min., color,

16 mm or 8 mm cassette. Dramatization of day-to-day
conflicts between parents and children that creates an

awareness for the need for better understanding and

communication between parents and their children. Pro-

duced in consultation with Dr. Thomas Gordon, creator

of P.E.T. — Parent Effectiveness Training. Available
from: Teckla Productions, 3518 Cahuenga Blvd. West,

Los Angeles, CA 90068. Tel: 213/851-7700. Rental:
$50; Purchase: $285.

The Escape, 14 min., b/w, 16 mm. A young boy,
neglected by parents, neighbors and peers, spends much

time alone in self-improvised forms of escape. Ultimately

he runs into the path of an oncoming car— his final
escape. Portrayed against similar scenes of “what might

have been.” Available from: Mass Media Ministries.

Rental: $ 1 5; Purchase: $135.

29



Women

Equality can only be found in its essential foundation, which is the dignity

of the human person, man and woman, in their filial relationship with

God, of whom they are the visible image.

Pope Paul VI, Address to the General Secretary of

the International Women’s Year Conference

International Situation

There are many differences in the status of women

throughout the world, differences that depend on

economic and social structure, family life and culture.

But basic similarities do exist. Women today have in

common not only concerns about families and

children; they also share a growing number of chal-

lenges and activities as they adapt to social change.

However, even though social conditions continue to

change, the overall status of women in most nations

of the world today is still inferior to that of men.

Although international standards for legal equality

between the sexes can be found in the UN Declaration
on Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, in

most countries women do not enjoy equality with

men. Many women do not have access to higher

education, while some have no education at all. Of

the world’s 700 million illiterates, the majority are

women. Hopefully, the UN Conference on Women,
held in Mexico City last June will give incentive to

people of all nations to work increasingly for the

elimination of those practices and customs that

discriminate against women, and will motivate women

to avail themselves of opportunities for development.

At the same time, efforts to provide services and

opportunities that women need to better their lives

day by day cannot be neglected in favor of pursuing

“equality” as an abstract ideal. Changes in the social

structure must respond to specific needs and concerns

of women and their families.

The Women’s Movement in the USA

In the United States the effort to achieve legal equality

for women is being made as the pros and cons of

amending the Constitution are debated in legislatures,

homes, classrooms and the media. Unlike the women’s

movement of the early 1900’s, which was primarily

concerned with the legal right of women to vote, the

movement of the ’70’s is concerned with a broader

range of issues. Today the effort centers on eliminating

discrimination from the various structures of society

— law, social practices and customs, attitudes and
expectations.

The focus on women has had a decided impact on

almost every aspect of American life, and much of its

impact has been positive. It has highlighted attitudes

and practices that discriminate against women, and

has made women themselves more aware of their own

responsibility for making equality a reality. The high

visibility of women taking on new roles in business,

politics and the professions has given all women an

unprecedented sclf-confidcnce in themselves and in

their own abilities.

Other women, as well as some men, have been

turned off by what they regard as the extremes of the

women’s movement. Some fear that the effort to

restore equality between the sexes will become a

source of divisiveness, destroying the equality that

already exists. And many others are just not certain

how they feel about the whole thing. To be sure, the

women’s movement, like all movements, has its fringe

elements. But in working through the myriad issues

involved, we cannot allow the extremes to provide us

with an excuse for ignoring the heart of the matter—
the existence of a definite and often subtle discrimina-

tion against one half of the human population.

Education

One of the prerequisites for a happy and fruitful life,

30



Woman

especially in our complex society, is an education

commensurate with one’s abilities and talents. Educa-

tional equality is not yet a reality, but progress is

being made.

Article 9 of the UN Declaration on the Elimina-
tion of Discrimination Against Women states: “All

appropriate measures shall be taken to ensure to girls

and women, married or unmarried, equal rights with

men in education in all levels.” The article specifically

mentions, among other things, that women should

have access to all types of educational institutions,

should enjoy qualified teaching staffs, and should have

equal opportunities for scholarships and other

financial aid.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

holds that sex discrimination shall be eliminated from

every federally financed educational program. This

Title has implications for a broad spectrum of educa-

tional issues, including admissions and recruiting,

athletics, scholarships, textbooks, curriculum, and

women’s studies programs, to mention just a few.

At the elementary level, schools are beginning to

use texts and other materials that point to the

diversity of roles available to men and women. And

many men and women from all walks of life are

invited to speak to classes of youngsters, so that

children become accustomed to seeing adults of both

sexes pursuing a variety of careers.

Although higher education has become increasingly

available to women in the United States, it has

generally steered young women into “helper” roles.

Women were expected to be secretaries, not execu-

tives; nurses, not doctors, etc. There have always

been expections to the “rule,” and many talented

women have become professionally successful. But

too often schools, backed by parents and society,

conveyed to women the idea that there was no need

to excel. Unfortunately, even today, guidance coun-

selors urge girls to “take up typing in case you ever

need a job.”

Today increasing numbers of women are marrying

later, and many are remaining single permanently.

Most will ultimately marry and have families, but

many of these women, either from choice or necessity,

will be part of the labor force for perhaps as long as

35 years. In line with the lifestyles they are choosing,

young women need an education that will prepare

them for their roles as wives and mothers as well as

workers outside the home. Young women need to be

encouraged to develop their special interests and

abilities, but more importantly, parents and teachers

should communicate to young people a sense of excite-

ment and enthusiasm about the potential of each and

every person. Like young men, women should be

encouraged to think in terms of life-long plans, i.e.,

what they want to be doing 10 years from now, 25

years from now, and so on.

Women Who Work

The working woman is not a new phenomenon.

Through the ages woman has worked alongside of and

as hard as man. What is new, and increasingly

accepted, is that a woman works outside the home

setting during much of her married life. No matter

how they feel about the women’s liberation movement,

most people pretty well accept the fact that the issues

of equal employment opportunity and equal pay for

equal work are matters of human justice.

According to a 1967 report by the U.S. Depart-

ment of Labor, the number of years women work

varies with marital status and presence of children:

Marital Status Years Worked

Single & childless 45 years

Married & childless 35 years

Married with 1 child 25 years

Married with 2 children 22 years

Married with 3 children 20 years

Married with 4 children 17 years

In a recent survey by the Institute of Life Insur-

ance, the following statistics are pertinent:

• Between 1940 and 1973, women in the labor force

increased by 68%
;
the rate for married women

tripled.

• In 1973, one-third of the women with pre-school

children were working outside the home. Between

1960 and 1973, the number of working women

with children under three years doubled.

• Most women work because of economic need.

Almost two-thirds of working women were single,

divorced, separated, or had a husband making less

than $7,000 a year.

• The earnings of women substantially help the

income of the family. In 1972, wives who worked

full time contributed nearly 40% of their family’s
total income.

• Women’s incomes in all occupations are significantly

lower than men’s.

The problem is not whether women should work,

but how those who want to, or need to, can do so

without leaving other important obligations unmet. A
husband of a working woman can make the necessary

difference, not only by being pleased about his wife’s

involvement in the outside world, but by ungrudgingly

taking responsibility for part of the day-to-day tasks

of running a home, and helping to take care of the

children.

Some companies are reluctant to hire young

women. They feel “there’s no use training even bright

young women because they’ll marry, have children

and leave.” This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if

women have no choice but to leave work to care for

children on a fulltime basis. As well as husbands

helping with children and housework, creative child

care centers, nursery schools, and flexible working

31



Woman

schedules for parents can provide partial solutions to

this problem.

More and more, positions of leadership are

becoming open to women. However, firms often say:

“The job’s open to any woman who’s qualified, but

we haven’t found one.” In many cases, they probably

haven’t looked, but women themselves must look to

the future and pursue the quality of education needed

to obtain and advance in leadership positions. At the

same time, the myth that women workers are char-

acterized by a high turnover and absenteeism, and

thus poor employment risks, must be put to rest.

According to a recent government report, men and

women at the same job level had similar attendance

records.

The Woman Who Marries

A recent survey of young people shows that most
young men and women have positive attitudes toward

marriage. The survey also shows that fewer young

women today prefer a life as housewife, while more

young women indicated that they would like to

combine marriage and a career. The trend is very

definitely toward partnership in marriage. A 1974
Roper poll showed that 60% of the women under 30

who were surveyed preferred marriages in which both

husband and wife work and share the responsibilities

of housework and child-rearing.

In talking of women’s liberation, we must be

careful of the mentality that says, “If you’re going to

be a totally fulfilled woman, you must be integrated

into the process of production.” Many women choose

to devote their full time to being wives, mothers, and

homemakers. They love their husbands and their

children, arc happy with the lifestyle they have chosen,

and would have it no other way. They experience

deep satisfaction spending time with their children,

and take on an important educative role, especially in

the pre-school years. Many women who choose this

lifestyle arc, by their very presence, unique sources of

unity to their families. Too often, though, the demands

of everyday life are such that many women fail to

recognize the vital contribution they make to their

families.

Increasingly, however, a young woman marries,

leaves work to have her first child, and then often

finds herself isolated in a small apartment with too

little to keep her mentally and physically occupied.

The demands and challenges of school and working

days are no longer there, and old friendships have

been disrupted. Again, as is so common in our mobile

society, family and close friends might be thousands

of miles away. At this point some young women, with

the encouragement and support of their husbands and

children, return to school to finish work for degrees,

or to further their education in some other way.

Others return to work cither full- or part-time, while

yet others become actively engaged in community

projects that, although staffed by volunteers, are of

indispensable benefit to many people.

Whatever their lifestyles, women who are wives

and mothers need encouragement and support from

both society and the Church. Often in the pursuit of

“women’s liberation,” marriage and family tend to be

downgraded, and children are depicted as obstacles to

self-fulfillment.

This becomes most obvious in the abortion issue.

Unfortunately, abortion has become for many part

and parcel of the women’s liberation movement. Many

women contend that abortion is a right to which they

are entitled if they are to have control over their own

bodies. At the same time women are pointing out that

they can bring a new and much needed dimension to

social problems by reason of their unique sensitivity,

their capacity to nurture and respond to others with

compassion, and most especially their reverence and

openness to all of life. Yet, to accept the destruction

of their unborn children is to negate these very

qualities, and to succumb to a new type of domination

that denies them one of their most unique capabilities

— motherhood. Too many women refuse to see that
the mindset that promotes abortion as the quick and

easy solution is in reality the mindset of exploitation

that the women’s movement set out to destroy. At any

rate, rights and freedoms must be weighed in relation

to the rights and freedoms of others. Freedom for

women to develop their potential cannot be won at

the expense of other persons, especially children.

The Single Woman

The single woman lives in a world that revolves

around the family— the nuclear family. Because
there is an unspoken expectation that every woman

should be attached to a man, some people see the

single woman as slightly less than whole, while some

parents fear their daughter’s singleness might have

been caused by a child-rearing failure on their part.

However, today many women are discovering that

it's okay to be single, and some are finding that it's

not just okay, but is the best way of life for them.

Being single, like being anything else, has its draw-

backs, but it is for many a rewarding and fulfilling

way of life.

• Single women have a unique opportunity for

personal growth and for attaining the tremendous

feeling of confidence that comes from being self-

reliant and on one's own.

• The single woman has the freedom to pursue

friendships with a variety of people, male and

female, married and single.

• She has the privacy to relax, listen to music, or get

lost in a good book.

• She has the freedom to spend time doing what she

likes to do, including work. Because she has the

time, she often brings to her work a deep sense

of commitment and dedication.

• Single women retain a deep commitment to and an

ongoing relationship with other members of their

32



Woman

own families — parents, grandparents, brothers and
sisters, as well as nieces and nephews.

The widowed, separated or divorced woman has

many of the same opportunities and advantages as the

woman who does not marry. She also has unique

challenges to meet, as she adjust to making decisions

on her own, perhaps for the first time in her life, and

as she raises a family without a mate. Society and the

church can provide strength and support for women

who are widowed, separated or divorced, by affirming

the validity of their efforts, by making them wel-

come in community and parish activities, and by

providing forums where they can discuss the special

joys and problems they encounter in their lives. Such

support will help the widowed, separated or divorced

person acquire the necessary self-confidence to be

active and productive members of the community.

Religious Women

Until recent years, many people had little contact with

religious women, except in their capacity as teachers

in local parish schools. For the average lay person,

more myths surrounded nuns than can be found in a

book of fairy tales. Today, however, religious women

are quickly dispelling old images. They are more and

more being recognized for what they are — profes-
sional women, dedicated to reconciling men and

women with one another and with God.

In their capacity as single, professional women,

nuns can uniquely demonstrate that women are

persons in themselves, since their own feminity can be

seen and understood apart from their special relation-

ship to men and children. Increasingly, religious

women are becoming more involved in social and

pastoral ministries hitherto restricted to men. They

are also becoming more visible and more intimately

involved in their local communities, from ministering

to those individuals in need of help, organizing profes-

sional associations for their sisters, and attempting to

bring about important changes in the political staic-

tures of our nation.

The Church and Women

If, over the centuries, women had played a major role

in formulating Christian doctrine and practices,

Christianity would probably have had a different

attitude toward women. But the context within which

the church’s teaching was formulated was that of a

patriarchal society. Thus, most of the teaching on

women’s roles was determined by men, frequently

without benefit of feminine insight and experience.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the church’s

teaching in regard to women has undergone dramatic

change. It will continue to evolve as the issues con-

tinue to be discussed and re-thought by all members

of the church. The church itself, aware that practices

and attitudes have not kept pace with current thinking,

has set up commissions, at the Vatican as well as on

national and diocesan levels, to work toward a renewal

of the whole concept of the person and the mission of

women in the Church and in society. In recent years

many within the hierarchy of the church, including

popes, synods and individual bishops, have spoken to

the issue, but Bishop Carroll Dozier of Memphis,

Tennessee, perhaps most clearly expressed this new

attitude in a recent pastoral letter:

Immeasurable potential may be lost to the Church

and to society by too rigidly exclusive male and

female roles. The traditionally opposite yet comple-

mentary trends of protector (male) and nurturer

(female) must be reconciled if mankind is to realize

its identity as the image of God . . . The dignity

and rights of women — and equally the dignity and
rights of men — depend on an open-ended explora-
tion of the untapped potential in all persons, and

the true freedom for each to grow into the unique

spiritual being he or she is capable of becoming.

Despite human failings, especially in regard to the

unequal status of women and men, the Catholic

Church has succeeded where others have failed in

humanizing and civilizing the deepest impulses of

ordinary people. These achievements were due in no

small part to the church's teaching about Mary. Mary

was to a rough and barbaric people, and is to us

today, the epitome of all that is womanly. She is for us

the Mother of God, and our spiritual mother in whom

we find love, warmth, compassion and approach-

ability. We should not lose sight of the fact that

women have been the mainstay of the church, both as

its members and as transmitters of the faith to

generations of children. Increasingly, women will con-

tinue, jointly with men, to pass on the faith to

children, as they also assume a more prominent role

in the decision-making processes within the church.

Conclusion

The needs and concerns of women in regard to their

status and roles within society often do not easily lend

themselves to concrete verbal descriptions. However,

as women become more articulate in expressing their

ideas in the public forum, the following priorities will

undoubtedly receive greater public attention:

• Women, as a matter of human justice, must be

recognized by themselves and others, as full human

persons — persons who need not prove their
strength or equality by competition, nor be totally

dependent on others for a sense of identity.

• Women are seeking a new image that repects, not

sameness with men, but a fundamental equality of

talent, of mental ability, and strength of character

in men and women alike.

• Women and men must come to see that women’s

lives, emotions and aims are equally as important

and significant as men's.

• We must apply to the solution of concrete problems

of daily life those qualities and concerns that

33



Woman

women can provide— her openness and reverence
for life itself, her vulnerability, her capacity to

nurture and respond to others with compassion,

the richness of her intelligence, her joy and

spontaneity.

• Women must be aware of their worth and dignity

in their current roles, for out of such awareness

will come a fuller recognition of their rights.

• Women must create and take advantage of oppor-

tunities to participate fully in all of life — in society,
in the family, in the church.

Program Suggestions

Set up a 5-week program for all women of the parish

to be held on successive Sunday afternoons or eve-

nings. The programs should be well publicized by

posters, local newspapers, radio & TV. For “adver-

tising” in church, arrange a exhibition in the back of

the church showing “Women through the Ages,” and

hand out descriptive fliers to all women, from high

school age on. The program should make use of

well-qualified speakers, as well as allow ample time for

participant discussion.

First Week: Give an overview of the impact of the

women’s movement on all aspects of American life.

A good speaker would be a professor from a local
college who teaches a course on “women”, or a local

woman actively involved in the movement.

Second Week: FTave a sociologist or psychologist

speak about the socialization processes that help

determine a person's expectations of him or herself,

and expectations of others.

Third Week: Have a local educator, or an employ-

ment counsellor, discuss lifestyles for women that

might include women returning to work, volunteer

commitment, or continuing education. Encouragement

and practical information should be provided: how

to face interviews, preparing applications for jobs and

schools, etc.

Fourth Week: Have a theologian or church his-

torian discuss the teaching of the different churches

in regard to women.

Fifth Week: Have a successful minority woman,

whether minority because of race, age, or social status,

discuss the special obstacles that are met by women

of minority groups.

Women and Liturgy

Although women are becoming more active in

liturgical celebrations, many people are not aware of

the existing possibilities for the active participation of

women in the liturgy: readings, prayer of the faithful,

etc. Make such possibilities known to parishoners by

printing the information in the Sunday bulletin, and

by asking more women of the parish to volunteer

their services for liturgical celebrations.

Women and the Church

Many people, men and women alike, are unfamiliar

with the church’s recent statements concerning

women. As a high school class project:

• have students research recent documents, including

Council documents, statements of John XXIII and

Paul VI, Synod documents, recent encyclicals, and

statements of individual bishops, pulling out those

which explicitly or implicitly speak of the equality

of the sexes.

• give each class member copies of the pertinent

texts, and provide opportunity for class discussion.

Information Bank

Many women who do not wish to take a job out-

side the home, would like to volunteer some time

to a worthwhile community project. But identifying

those organizations that need help, and determining

where her talents can best be used, can be difficult.

Have a committee canvass the area to find out which

agencies rely on volunteer help, noting:

• what type of activity the agency is involved in.

• what kind of help they most need— someone to
work with patients; drivers; someone to work with

young people, etc.

• full address, phone numbers (working hours &

weekends), as well as the name of the person to

contact.

This information can be inexpensively duplicated

and made available in the back of church, or included

in a mailing to all parishioners. A system to touch
base regularly with the various agencies would keep

information current. This could also be a worthwhile

class project for high school students.

A Parish F.xperience
Have young children of the parish draw posters

depicting their ideas of what women are, and display

all finished posters in the church. On a Sunday eve-

ning, after parents and other parishioners have had a

chance to see the posters, invite a guest speaker to

discuss the changing roles and status of women. The

program might well start with a brief film such as

“To Be A Woman,” and be followed by coffee in the
church hall, where the discussion can be continued

in an informal way.

Bibliography and Resources

Books

Bier, William C., S.J. (cd.). Woman in Modern Life, The

Pastoral Psychology Scries, 1968, N.Y., Fordham Univ.

Press. The proceedings of a course on “Woman in the

Modern World," held at Fordham Univ.

Bullough, Vern L., The Subordinate Sex: A History of

Attitudes Toward Women, 1974, Baltimore, Md., Penguin

Books, Inc., 375 pp., $2.95.

34



Woman

Huber, Joan (ed.), Changing Women in a Changing

Society, 1973, Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, 295 pp.,

$7.75. First appeared as a special issue of The American

Journal of Sociology. Includes a history of the women’s

movement and material by leading sociologists.

Janeway, Elizabeth, Man’s World, Woman’s Place, 1971,

N.Y., Dell Pub. Co., paper, $2.95. Explores the

significant myths relating to women’s roles in society, and

analyzes the myth of female power.

Jennings, Sister Vivien, O.P., The Valiant Woman: At

the Heart of Reconciliation, 1974, N.Y., Alba House,

1 14 pp., $3.95. Focuses on liberation of women within

the Christian context of renewal and reconciliation.

Maccoby, Eleanor E. and Carol N. Jacklin, The

Psychology of Sc.x Differences, 1 974, Stanford, Calif.,

Stanford Univ. Press, 634 pp., $18.95 (hardback only).

A summary of research on sex differences, and an
exhaustive cross-referenced bibliography.

Papal Teachings: The Woman in the Modern World, ed.
Monks of Solesmes, 1959, Boston.

Rossi, Alice (ed.), The Feminist Papers, 1974, N.Y.,

Bantam Books, Inc. 716 pp., $1.95. An anthology of

major feminist writings from the late eighteenth century

to the mid-twenties.

Tavard, George H.. Woman in Christian Tradition, 1973,
Notre Dame, Ind., Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 257 pp.,
$3.95. An impressive discussion of the image of woman

in the Judaeo-Christian tradition.

Pamphlets/Statements

International Women's Year 1975: Study Kit, Vatican

Committee on Women in Society and in the Church.
Information, suggestions and background for churches

to use in participating in IWY. USCC Publications,
1312 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.

Cost: $1.25 Quantity rates available.

Equal Rights for Women — A Call for Action. The
United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Dis-

crimination Against Women, unanimously adopted by

the UN General Assembly in November 1967 includes
background information for each of the Declaration’s

articles. Available from: United Nations, U.N. Plaza,

New York 10017.

Marialis Cultis, Pope Paul VI, Feb. 2, 1974, on devo-

tion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Available from:

Publications Office, USCC, 1312 Mass. Ave., N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20005. Cost: 65C

“New Feminine Identity,” in New Catholic World, May/
June 1975. Entire issue devoted to new feminine identity

in the Church. Includes a step-by-step adult education

program that can be used in conjunction with the

articles contained in this issue. Available from: New
Catholic World, 400 Sette Dr., Paramus, N.J. 07652,

95<f + postage & handling.

Statements concerning the role and status of women, by

Pope Paul VI, Bishops Maher and Dozier, as well as other

church documents, is available from: Bishops’ Committee

for Pro-Life Activities, 1312 Mass. Ave., N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20005. Cost: 15<f.

Resource Agencies

Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on the Role and Status of

Women in Society & in the Church, NCCB
1312 Mass. Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

National Council of Catholic Women
1330 Mass. Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20005

U.S. Center for International Women’s Year

1630 Cresent Place, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20009

U.N. Commission on the Status of Women,

United Nations Plaza, New York 10017

Audio-Visuals

To Be A Woman, 1 V/i min., color. Young women speak

out on various aspects of womanhood, and what it

means to them. A good discussion-starter, especially

among young women. Mass Media Ministries, 2116 N.

Charles St., Baltimore, Md. 21218. Rental: $17.50;

Purchase: $175.

Included Out, 2 min., color, animation. Deals cleverly

with the status of women in the church, particularly

discriminatory language. Excellent discussion starter.

Mass Media Ministries. Rental: $7.50; Purchase: $60.

The Fan, 3 min., color, animation. Good for discussion

of self-confidence and individual potential for growth.

Senior high/adult level. Mass Media Ministries. Rental:

$7.50; Purchase $75.

American Woman’s Search for Equality, color filmstrip

with cassette. Explores the confusion and debate over

what women’s liberation really is. Mass Media Ministries,

#802. Cost: $22.

Woman: A Multimedia Resource for Human Liberation.

A flexible program for the development of women as
persons. Includes structures and adaptations, essays,

cassettes, filmstrips, etc. Teleketics, Franciscan Com-

munications Center, 1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles, CA
90015. Purchase: $95.

35



What you have not saved in your youth how will you acquire in your old

age? How becoming to the gray-haired is judgment; and a knowledge of
counsel to those on in years! How becoming to the aged is wisdom;
understanding and prudence to the venerable. The crown of old men is

wide experience; their glory, the fear of the Lord.

Sirach 25:3-6

Who Is the Older American?

One of every 10 persons in the United States is now

an “older American,” aged 65 or over. The proportion

of older Americans has been steadily growing in

recent decades. Tn light of the decreasing birth rate,

their number will continue to grow and they will be a

proportionately larger part of the overall population

in years to come. Between 1900 and 1970, the total

population of the United States tripled, while the

older group grew almost sevenfold.

The imaginary picture of an “older person” is that

of someone far advanced in age, weak and unsteady

on his or her feet, chronically ill, with a poor memory,

little or no knowledge of what is happening, and

unable to understand the modern world. Also part of

the image are financial dependency, immobility, and

general inability to cope with day-to-day problems.

This imaginary picture is not very pleasant. In

fact, since everyone is constantly getting older, it is

frightening to many middle-aged Amcrcans. It is a

picture that is generally hidden or kept in the dark

recesses of one’s mind. It is a disheartening picture.

But it is not true. Perhaps the most tragic result of

this false, imaginary picture, is that it often forestalls

effective efforts to find meaningful roles for older

Americans in the overall society, besides preventing

society from meeting the real problems faced by older

Americans.

A first order of business, then, is to reconstruct the
public image of the older American, and then to move

toward some positive action recommendations. An

accurate picture of older Americans includes the

following facts:

• Most older Americans (62% ) are under age 75,

and a third are between 65 and 70.

• More than 80% are in stable health. Though only

14% have no chronic conditions or impairments of

any kind, the vast majority are able to take care of

their health problems pretty much by themselves.

• Seven out of 1 0 live in family settings; only one in

20 lives in an institution. Significant numbers live

alone or with non-relatives.

• The majority (64% ) of older Americans live in

metropolitan areas, and most live in the central

cities of such areas.

• Older Americans have less than half the income of

the general population. Slightly under 20% of older

men arc steadily employed, generally in low-paying

or part-time jobs.

• Older Americans spend proportionately more of

their income on the necessities of life— food,
shelter, health care. Ownership of automobiles and

appliances is lower for older Americans, largely

because of their cost.

• Inflation takes a greater toll on those with a fixed

income— and elderly persons generally fall in this
category. Rising prices and other increases in the

cost of living cannot be met, and a low-income

budget leaves little room for readjustment.

• Although a quarter of the entire older population

lives in New York, Pennsylvania or California,

growing numbers are moving to Arizona, Nevada,

Hawaii, New Mexico and Florida.

36



The Aging

On balance, then, older Americans are a fairly

stable part of the population. They enjoy basic inde-

pendence and reasonably good health. They lead

orderly lives. But their position is precarious because

changes in social and economic patterns can easily

disrupt their orderly routines.

Needs of the Aging

Unquestionably, the economic problems of older

Americans are among the most pressing, especially in

a time of inflation and recession. A fixed income

cannot keep pace with escalating costs, and older

Americans generally have no way to supplement their

income. Although material affluence cannot determine

the value of a person, a financial structure in which

income is related to the cost of living is a priority of

justice in any society. In order to insure the possibility

of such economic stability for older Americans, the

following seem necessary:

• An adjustment of social security payments to keep

pace with inflation. Most older Americans derive

at least one-third of their incomes from social

security.

• Establishment and upgrading of pension programs

to insure another source of old-age income.

• Changes in social security regulations to allow older

Americans to earn more money without loss of

social security benefits.

• Increased employment opportunities for older per-

sons, both in specialized areas and at reduced time

schedules.

Housing is a problem for older Americans. Many

retain ownership of homes that are more than suffi-

cient for their needs, in need of repair, and too

costly to maintain, precisely because no other type of

housing is available. Senior citizens’ housing must be

carefully planned and coordinated with other housing

development. The availability of stores, churches, and

recreational facilities should be part of the planning.

Although many older Americans do fairly well in

maintaining good health, they suffer the same diffi-

culties as everyone else from the inadequacies of our

health care system. Preventive health care and frequent

check-ups are especially helpful. They should be

provided without excessive cost and in dignified

circumstances.

The rising cost of food is perhaps the most serious

problem for older Americans. Many are on restricted

diets or find it especially difficult to plan nutritious

and economical meals. Food stamps, meals on wheels

and other programs can help. They should be made

more available to older Americans.

Recommendations for social programs and social

services similar to the above can be expanded rather

easily. In fact, many older Americans are now

mobilizing their own efforts to put pressure on govern-

ment to bring about necessary changes. Not long ago,

more than 3,000 elderly persons from across the

nation met in Washington, D.C., to sensitize Congress

to their needs. The meeting included the usual lectures

and group sessions, but it also involved visits to

legislators and some picketing of government

agencies. A display of “grey power” may be useful.

Perhaps more important than political action is

the need to create general awareness of older Ameri-

cans and their problems, and to generate the more

widespread sense of solidarity between other age

groups and the aging. The aging are not simply

engaged in a struggle for political power, but in a

struggle for recognition and acceptance in the minds,

hearts and general worldview of the young and

middle-aged groups.

Respect for life knows no age barriers, and family

living profits immensely from a mixture of age groups.

Family specialists emphasize the need for children to

be in contact with older persons, since both profit

from the interchange. Young children can learn from

older persons, and can often be stirred out of their

self-centeredness. And young and middle-aged parents

profit greatly from some outside reassurance or volun-

tary assistance. Older Americans, most of whom have

had successful married lives, derive a new feeling of

self-worth from being taken seriously by younger

generations -—- even if they do not always agree
totally.

Program Suggestions

The Church has a role to play as an institution

with the capabilities to meet certain needs of the

aging, and to bring them together with other groups or

individuals in the community. The following program,

developed in the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend,

Indiana, is a good example of what can be done.

Not By Bread Alone

“Harvest House” is an attempt to help older adults

come to accept themselves as citizens who have a

dignity to preserve, a stake in the present run of things,

and a good many years to celebrate and enjoy life.

Harvest House was organized to give the older

generation not only hope and vision for their future,

but also actual, present-day dynamic challenges. Now

in its second year of operation, Harvest House is a

movement of the aging, by the aging and for the aging,

seeking in a wholesome cooperative way what is

necessary not only for the bodily health of older

adults, but also for their spiritual and psychological

well-being. Harvest House is convinced that a person

can continue the process of learning and developing,

thereby enjoying life in a personal and social manner.

When one’s working years come to an end, a whole

new phase begins— a time for harvesting; a time for
exploring hidden talents; a time to use leisure hours in

exciting ways.

In the fall of 1973 Harvest House began to imple-

ment its theory of “continuing human development”

by opening small neighborhood centers, preferably

37



The Aging

near a church where facilities are offered free of

charge. To date in the city of South Bend there are

six such centers, where older adults can meet as often

as they like to organize their talents, abilities and

political power. These sites are connected with

churches because the church is for many older people

the normal place for gathering. Furthermore, churches

generally have empty rooms available during the

middle of the week and in the middle of the day.

There is also a need to develop among the clergy a

specialized ministry to the aging. Church leaders

devote much of their time to the youth, which is

understandable if the church is to have future members

who will continue the assembly of God for the years

to come. But the aging have special needs that also

need attention, and a new pastoral interest needs to be

generated on their behalf. Thus the clergyman’s free

time can be profitably utilized during the daytime

hours when the young people are in school and other

adults are busy making a living.

What are these Harvest House centers like? First

of all, there is a six-point program that guides the

program’s overall philosophy:

• social awareness

• self-help and service to the community

• religious experience

• educational and cultural advancement

• recreation and celebration

• political power

Many older adults have a wealth of leadership

qualities that quickly come to the fore when oppor-

tunity and challenge present themselves. Thus, each

center prides itself on self-government, and an elected

task force actively coordinates and implements the six

points that are vital to the center's success.

Social Awareness

Each neighborhood center is meant to serve the older

generation — approximately age 60 and over—
regardless of religious persuasion, race or nationality.

The center collects $2.00 a year in dues from mem-

bers but Harvest House is open to anyone in the area

who is in need of friendship or sociability, whether or

not they are ducs-paying members.

Service

A center encourages its members to reach out to one

another, as well as to others who are in need of help

or companionship. There are many people confined

to their homes, in hospitals and nursing homes, and

still others are destitute either financially or psycho-

logically— all such persons become the concern of
the Harvest House membership.

Religious Experience

Retired persons have time to enjoy new approaches

to spiritual development. Communal anointing, cre-

ative retreats and spiritual study days, combined with

travel and sociability, can become memorable and

meaningful religious experiences. Small prayer groups

can be fostered for Bible study, community awareness

and personal growth. Counseling for the aging needs

special attention, as does the need to educate older

adults on a positive approach to illness and death.

Education

Harvest House is convinced that education is a never-

ending process, and that the possibilities for con-

tinuing education are limitless as well as productive,

regardless of one’s age. In line with this conviction,

Harvest House established the innovative “Forever

Learning Institute.” The Institute is an adult educa-

tion program for adults 55 and over, which offers

courses in the humanities, literature, music, fine arts,

languages, personality growth, creative writing, nature

study, national and world affairs, history, theology,

etc. The Institute also offers activities such as special

lectures, films, tours, concerts, discussions and work-

shops. Without the pressure of exams and competi-

tion, teachers and students mingle freely — a liber-
ating experience for both. Harvest House firmly

believes that this unique type of adult education

center is a beautiful way of bringing older persons

together to a new interest in life and learning, and to

a greater degree of sociability and self-awareness

as vital members of society.

Recreation and Celebration

This aspect of the program is both constructive and

challenging. Harvest House assures its members that

joy and fun arc a wholesome part of life, and encour-

ages them to be creative in planning activities that

correspond with their dignity, their wisdom and their

experience. Birthdays and anniversaries can be cele-

brated in different ways; group theater parties and

trips can be arranged economically. Interesting lec-

tures can be arranged on social security, financial

matters, police protection, culinary arts, crafts, etc.,

and such things can be done in an atmosphere of

sociability and friendship. Each center is responsible

for its own programming.

Political Power

As noted above, 10% of the United States’ popula-

tion is over 65, and older adults are a fast-growing

minority in our country. They arc capable of pro-

curing by means of their vote not only adequate care

and attention from government agencies for them-

selves but for others who may be in need. Older

people can prove their strength by numbers and show

their concern for political matters, nationally as well

as internationally. Hopefully, their wisdom and experi-

ence will be felt at the voting booths and in the

legislative chambers of city, state and country.

38



The Aging

Harvest House feels it is needed, and that the

movement on behalf of the aging should be felt

everywhere. The organization is not a complicated

one, but well adapted to the strength and wisdom of

the older generation. Many among their ranks are

men and women from professional backgrounds, from

long business and teaching careers; most, as home-

makers and parents, have a priceless experience to

offer; and still others have long been active in organ-

izations and community affairs. Certainly these talents

and skills must be recognized and respected. Such

persons can enrich their own lives tremendously,

while being of service to those less fortunate than

themselves. Harvest House merely went ahead and

provided encouragement and a place to meet and set

before the aging one more beautiful chapter in their

lives.

For further information write: Rev. Louis J. Putz,

CSC, Harvest House, 120 E. Taylor, South Bend, Ind.

46601.

Bibliography and Resource Material

Publications

Abernathy, Jean, Old Is Not a Four-Letter Word,

Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1975.

Administration on Aging, DHEW, Let’s End Isolation,
Washington, D.C., 1973. No. 1762-00041. 154. Write:

Public Documents Dept. U.S. Government Printing

Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (must prepay).

Aging in America, Bert Kruger Smith, Boston. Beacon

Press, 1973. $3.95. Useful guide to the problems

of the aging. Evaluates a variety of government and

private efforts to serve the elderly which can be dupli-

cated at the local level.

Growing Old and How to Cope With It, Alfons Deeken,
1972, Paramus, N.J., Paulist Press, $1.45. The best

chapters are concerned with spiritual growth in old age.

Growing Old, Sr. Marie Gaffney, M.S.B.T., 1972,

Chicago: Claretian Publications, 40 pp. 154. An aid to

the parish becoming the focal point for the elderly both

for worship and for social life through organizations

and meetings.

Handbook for the Elderly: How to Make the Parish
Meaningful, Diocesan Pastoral Council, 144 W. Wood
St., Youngstown, Ohio 44503, 1972, 25 pp., $2.50

(booklet/ manual). A parish response to the needs of
the elderly.

Mooney, C., Man Without Tears, N.Y., Harper & Row,

1975. Cf. chapter on “old Age.”

Religious Search, Growth and Enrichment for Older

Adults, CCD-Religious Education Office, 222 N. 17th St.,

Philadelphia, Pa. 19103. Cost: $3.00.

The Spanish Speaking Elderly, from 1971 White House

Conference on Aging. Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C., 20402. Cost: $6.75 for both volumes

(Stock #1762-00065).

Films

I Think They Call Him John, b/w, 26 min. Poignant

film that dramatically presents the loneliness and isolation

in the life of an old man. Mass Media Ministries, 2116

N. Charles St., Baltimore, Md. 21218. Rental: $17.50;

Purchase: $175.

Weekend, 12 min., color. Mother, father and son take

grandfather to the country for a picnic. As the story

evolves, you realize grandfather is not going home with

them — he's being put out to pasture. As the family’s
car pulls away, you see other families also leaving—
leaving their old behind. Excellent for discussion on how

our society treats the elderly. High school/adult level.

Mass Media Ministries. Rental: $15; Purchase: $150.

Of Time, Work and Leisure, 30 min. b&w. Based on the

book of Sebastian de Grazia. Mass Media Associates.

Rental, $1 1 .85.

The Four Day Week, 26 min. color. One episode of the

CBS series “The 21st Century” narrated by Walter
Cronkite. McGraw Hill Films, 1221 Avenue of the
Americas, New York 10020. Purchase, $375; rental,
$20 a day.

Resource Organizations

National Council on the Aging, 1828 L St., N.W.,
Suite 504, Washington, D.C. 20036

Administration on Aging, 400 6th St., S.W., Rm. 3548

Washington, D.C. .20201

National Center for Voluntary Action, 1785

Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

National Council of Senior Citizens, 151 1 K St., N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20005.

39



'Zleatfi

and

Vying

Man is only a reed, the feeblest thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed.
It is not necessary for the entire universe to take up arms in order to

crush him; a vapor, a drop of water is sufficient to kill him. But if the

universe crushed him, man would still be nobler than the thing which
destroys him, because he knows that he is dying: and the universe

which has him at its mercy is unaware of it.

Pascal, Pensees

Rediscovering Death

Americans have rediscovered death. At least it would

appear so from the steady flow of books and articles

on the subject, and from the increase in lectures,

workshops, and courses on death from coast to coast.

Dr. Ktibler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying, has

become almost a household name. Even Marcus

Welby, M.D., anguishes about euthanasia before

millions of TV viewers.

Tt was not always so. Not very long ago the

subject of death was taboo. Arnold Toynbee has

observed that death was considered “un-American”

in the United States, that is, it was thought to be a

subversive challenge to the American obsession with

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as a

threat to the American cult of health and eternal

youth. Only a few years ago Geoffrey Gorer popu-

larized the expression “The Pornography of Death.”

He made a strong case for the idea that death had

replaced sex as the great unmentionable in society.

“Never say ‘Die’ ” had come to be taken literally in

our culture.

But this has changed greatly in recent years.

Several reasons can be given to explain the current

interest in death.

New Medical Technology. It is difficult for many,

particularly young people, to fully appreciate the truly

revolutionary nature of the new medical technology.

Electronic devices (pacemakers and monitoring

devices), respirators, antibiotics, and many other

developments now permit many people to live who

would formerly have died. At the start of the century

15% of all newborn infants died in their first year,

and nearly another 15% died before adolescence.

Today less than 2% die in their first year. Most
people live beyond the age of 70. In industrialized

countries today almost two-thirds of those dying die

from ailments of old age.

The new technology has been, however, a mixed

blessing. Prolonging life has meant in many instances

prolonging the dying process. The problem most

frequently presents itself as one of medical decision-

making at both ends of life, i.e., whether to begin to

use or, once begun, to continue to use life-sustaining

technology for defective new-borns or elderly terminal

patients.

Transplantation. The development of transplanta-

tion techniques has forced a reconsideration of the

legal definition of death. For example, if a still-beating

heart is to be taken from a person for transplantation

purposes, in what way, if at all, can the donor be

called “dead?” If the donor is not dead, would not

the surgeon removing the heart be legally guilty of

causing the death? What docs constitute death in the

legal sense? This question is the reverse side of the

legal question raised in abortion discussions, “When

does human life begin?”

The Contemporary “Rights” Movement. American

society today is expressing widespread concern for the

rights of individuals, and for the protection of these

rights against any unwarranted invasion by other

individuals or institutions. This trend emphasizes the

freedom of the individual and the freedom of personal

decision-making. In a medical context, there is con-

sumer concern for the patient's “Right to Know”—

40



Death and Dying

to know his condition and prognosis, and treatments

available to him— as well as his right to refuse
treatment, even life-sustaining treatment.

It is not uncommon to read and hear today of a

“Right to Die,” often asserted without making the

necessary distinctions between means and end.

American law, as interpreted by the courts, is showing

less and less inclination to intrude into areas said to

be those of private decision and action, thus widening

the area of private choice. The “Right to Privacy,”

asserted as constitutionally protected in the Roe v.

Wade and Doe v. Bolton abortion decisions, is certain

to be invoked as justification for a person’s consti-

tutional right to terminate his life. Similarly, it is

already being argued by some (and rightly feared by

others) that if a person has such a “Right to Die,”

others have the obligation to see that the right can be

exercised, or at least the obligation not to impede its

exercise. The import of this line of reasoning for

terminal care facilities can easily be imagined.

If the unspeakable, death, is now being spoken

about more openly and freely, it is equally true that

discussion about “what to do with the dying” is more

widespread than ever. Increasingly in the last decade,

euthanasia (understood here as the direct taking of

the life of the seriously ill) has been publicly advocated

in circles — medical, philosophical, religious, and
legal — where it was anathema only a few years ago.
“Death With Dignity” has become for many a new

rallying cry, an apparently harmless and even attrac-

tive slogan until one sees the many ambiguities it

contains.

The Church’s Role

Christians must reflect upon their understanding of

death and dying. They should determine in what way

they can best witness in word and action to this under-

standing in American society today. There is a clear

parallel here with what is happening with regard to

abortion. As the church cannot restrict itself to

denouncing abortion, but must provide realistic alter-

natives to women contemplating abortion, so it is not

enough for the church to decry the euthanasia move-

ment, but must provide realistic alternatives to those

who, fearing a prolonged and subhuman dying

process, seriously advocate direct euthanasia as a

solution.

The strongest appeal of the euthanasia movement

lies in its seeming compassion for the dying.

Christians, on the other hand, are often pictured as

lacking in compassion. An alternative to euthanasia

can be found in the Christian theology of death and

in its compassionate pastoral application today.

The Christian and Death: Affirming Life and

Affirming Death

“Life” can be considered from many points of view—
the biological, the sociological, and the theological,

to mention only three. “Death” can be considered

in similar terms, as the cessation of biological life;

as a phenomenon perceived in various ways by

various groups and cultures; or as a human experience

understood in light of the Christian community’s

reflection on its faith. From whatever vantage point

one begins, however, death remains a profound

mystery.

The Christian understanding of death is a “faith-

view.” This suggests, first, that the Christian view tells

the believer something about the mystery of death,

but does not completely dispel the mystery. Secondly,

the Christian “faith-view,” since it is not self-evident,

may be quite unintelligible to those who do not share

the Christian faith. St. Paul refers to the “foolishness”

of the cross. As Father Schillebeeckx has written: “On

the natural level, the death of a man is indeed an

absurd phenomenon, senseless, and unintelligible,

something that denies all the promise that man bears

within himself in his earthly life and shatters all his

inmost hopes.” The Christian view is revolutionary:

it denies that death is meaningless and absolutely

terminal.

The gospel sees life existentially; life is a person’s

saying “yes” or “no” to God, either affirming or

negating life and its ultimate meaning. In the gospel

life is either a “going out” of one’s self in order to

find one’s self in the neighbor and in God, or else

life is a “turning back upon” one’s self, living a life

of egoism and selfishness, which results in alienation

from others, from God, and even from one’s self.

Death, then, is a triumph for those who have affirmed

life and chosen to say “yes’ ’to God; for “the sinner,”

i.e., the one who has chosen self over all else, death

is the final event of alienation.

Jesus, as true man, took upon himself “the human

condition,” including man’s mortality. By his death,

Jesus conquered and transformed death. He did so

by trust and confidence in the Father, and by a stead-

fast and unwavering conviction that saying “yes” to

the Father would give meaning to a seemingly mean-

ingless death. “Father, into thy hands I commend

my spirit” (Lk. 23, 46). What seemed the end was

not only not that, but also the beginning of a new

life, the risen life of the Lord. As Jesus was delivered

from death and restored to his original glory in and

through his resurrection, those who “die in the Lord,”

that is, those who make their own his trust and con-

fidence in the Father, will be “saved,” will share in

his triumph over death and its seeming meaningless-

ness and finality. For the Christian, then, death is not

only not an end but a beginning, a breakthrough to

the fullness of life with the risen Lord.

Christian faith, however, does not imply that the

believer is spared all grief and anxiety in the face of

approaching death. Death is still “the enemy,” even

if the Christian is armed with weapons more than

capable of defeating the enemy. It is instructive to

read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ own immediate

preparation for his death. “Grief and anguish came

over him, and he said to them, ‘The sorrow in my

41



Death and Dying

heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here

and watch with me’ ” (Mt. 26, 37-38). The pastoral

implications of this are important, as has been noted

by Dr. Roy Branson of the Kennedy Institute, George-

town, in commenting on Dr. Kubler-Ross’ suggestions

for leading the dying toward “acceptance” of their

death. Even faith in the resurrection does not remove

the grim reality of death.

One of the many paradoxes of the Christian faith

is that, on the one hand, the Christian “affirms life”

and does all he can to fight against whatever threatens

life— hunger, disease, floods and other natural
disasters; while on the other hand, the Christian

“affirms death,” that is, affirms that he himself is a

creature and is therefore mortal, and that it is through

the door of death that he must of necessity walk in

order to be fully with the Lord. The Christian paradox

par excellence is that even in “affirming death,” one

is “affirming life.”

Pastoral Application: From Curing to Caring

The Church must witness to its understanding of death

in action as well as in word. When the time for curing

and recovery has passed, healing in the sense of com-

forting and supporting the dying must come into play.

Dr. Paul Ramsey speaks of “company-ing with” the

dying. Wherever people are dying — in tenement
flats, in nursing homes, in hospitals— the hope and
consolation of the Christian message must be

proclaimed.

Norman St. John-Stevas puts it well: “Dying . . .

can be a vital period in a person’s life, reconciling

him to life and death, and giving an interior peace.

To achieve this, intense, loving and tactful care and

cooperation are needed . . . This approach to dying

is, I believe, more humane and compassionate than

the snuffing out proposed by those who may be well-

intentioned, but who seem to understand little of the

real needs of those they are seeking to help.”

Although death can come to a person of any age,

suddenly or slowly, the following observations pertain

particularly to older patients with more or less

prolonged terminal illnesses.

A The dying arc best at teaching others how to care
for them. Each patient is unique, and reactions to

serious illness will differ from patient to patient, as

reactions will differ on the part of a given patient

during stages of his own illness. While certain

generalizations can be made about the dying, it is

essential to discover how this person is reacting to

terminal illness. This can best be done by being alert

not only to what the patient is saying, but equally

important, to his non-verbal communications and cues

as well.

A Two of the leading specialists in the field. Dr.
Kubler-Ross, and Dr. Herman Ficfel, have discovered

in their practice that, contrary to popular opinion,

terminally ill patients generally want to discuss their

situation with someone. They resent the conspiracy

of silence that so often surrounds them. In general,

the patient’s receptivity, sensitively discovered, will

determine when and how the seriousness of his illness

can best be revealed to him, or its existence confirmed

since in many cases the patient already knows the

truth. Gradual revelation is in all cases to be preferred

to a blunt matter-of-fact announcement.

A The counselor must be attuned to the emotions
often experienced by the dying patient who knows

his diagnosis: denial, anger, fear and anxiety, irrita-

bility and hostility, guilt, depression resulting from a

sense of isolation from family, friends, work, and

familiar surroundings. Great patience, understanding,

personal maturity, and willingness to hear out the

patient are required of the counselor, who is

frequently made the object of hostility transferred by

the patient from some other persons (family or health

professionals) or from the institution in which the

patient unwillingly finds himself.

A The patient can be reassured against his anxieties.

He can be assured that he is not in fact a bother to

others, that his life has in fact been worthwhile, that

he is not being punished for past wrongdoing, that

he can cope with what lies ahead, and that he will not

be abandoned by his loved ones. Most patients,

according to Dr. Bernard Schoenberg of Columbia

University College of Physicians and Surgeons, fear

the process of dying more than death itself, i.e., they

fear pain that they cannot bear, loss of control of

their functions, a kind of regression to infantilism.

As one cancer patient put it, “It’s not being dead I

mind, but the mechanics of dying.” Abandonment is

felt especially by the untouchables of our society,

cancer victims. Doctors and nurses tend to withdraw

through a sense of defeat; friends and relatives with-

draw through a sense of helplessness. The patient,

nevertheless, needs the reassurance that he is still

loved. Often the simplest of reassurances will suffice.

A Dr. Kubler-Ross has written that “Truly religious

people with an abiding relationship with God have

found it much easier to face death with equanimity”

than have others. She is quick to point out, however,

that the religious faith of which she is speaking must

be authentic and internalized, as opposed to super-

ficial and merely external.

The special assurances of the faith must be made

available to the Christian who is dying. Often one’s

caring presence is enough. At other times a word

spoken out of personal faith-conviction carries great

comfort. This may be a simple confession of belief in

the goodness and kindness of God working mysteri-

ously even in difficult times; it may be a reminder of

the redemptive value of the suffering the person is

called upon to bear. It might be proper to call to the

attention of some patients the “Christian Affirmation

of Life” of the Catholic Hospital Association. The

counselor should not hesitate to suggest prayer, either



Death and Dying

leading in the recitation of familiar prayers, or equally

important, offering personal prayers of faith, hope,

love, and a desire to accept the divine will. Meditative

reading of passages from Old and New Testaments is

usually appropriate. The reception of the sacraments

of Penance and the Eucharist can bring great comfort

and strength.

The family of the dying person also needs com-

forting and support. Contemporary society has so

emphasized self-control, self-reliance, keeping a

“stiff upper-lip,” that for one to admit sorrow and the

need of assistance during the period before and after

the death of a loved one is sometimes considered

an admission of weakness and immaturity. There is a

natural grieving process both before and after a loss.

As the Christian “companies-with” the dying, so he

“companies-with” the bereaved, witnessing to the fact

that grief in no way constitutes a denial of one’ faith.

Jesus wept when he learned of the death of his friend

Laz:arus (Jn. 1 1 , 35).

Just as no person lives alone, no person dies alone.

Death occurs in the world of nature and things,

movements and social forces die and pass from

memory. But the death of every person, famous or

unknown, is an important human and supernatural

event, and part of the mystery of life. The Second

Vatican Council describes the paradox well:

It is in the face of death that the riddle of human

existence becomes most acute. Not only is man

tormented by pain and the advancing deterioration

of his own body but even more so by a dread of

perpetual extinction. Man rebels against death

because he bears in himself an eternal seed which

cannot be reduced to sheer matter . . . Although

the mystery of death utterly beggars the imagination,

the Church has been taught by Divine Revelation,

and herself firmly teaches that man has been created

by God for a blissful purpose beyond the reach of

earthly misery. [Pastoral Constitution on the Church

in the Modern World, No. 18]

Program Suggestions

Individual

• If you have a terminally ill friend or relative, visit

him or her, or at least phone to inquire about his

or her condition and to see if there is anything you

can do.

• Volunteer your services at a local hospital or

nursing home.

• Pray regularly for the dying and for those minister-

ing to their needs.

• Pray for those recently bereaved.

Parish

• Plan a parish course, series of talks, or a single

lecture on “Death and Dying.” A four-part series
might include a doctor, a hospital chaplain, a

funeral director, and a theologian.

• Check the parish library to see if it is up-to-date on

reading materials and audiovisual aids on “Death

and Dying.”

• If no parish organization has a committee con-

cerned with aiding the dying and recently bereaved,

consider whether there should be such a commit-

tee. Could such a committee reach out to widows

and widowers and aid their return to the

community?

• Is the parish liturgy committee satisfied that the

guidelines of the revised liturgy are sufficiently

reflected at local wakes, funeral Masses, and burial

rites?

Bibliography and Resource Materials

Publications

Branson, Roy, “Another Look at Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.”

Christian Century, 7 May 1975, pp. 464-468.

Brim, Orville G. and others (eds.), The Dying Patient.

N.Y., Russell Sage Fd., 1970. Distributed by Basic Books,

P.O. Box 4100, Scranton, Pa. 18501. $10.

Feifel, Herman (ed.), The Meaning of Death. N.Y.,

McGraw Hill, 1959, $2.95.

Ford, J. Massyngberde, A Hospital Prayerbook, Paramus,

N.J., Paulist, 1975, $1.65.

Godin, Andre, Death and Presence: The Psychology of

Death and the Afterlife, Vol. 3, 1971. Brussels, Lumen

Vitae. Printed as monograph in 1972. Agent: Lumen

Vitae, Aquinas Subscription Agency, 718 Pelham Blvd.,

St. Paul, Minn. 55114. Sub. rate: $12.50 yrly.

Greinacher, Norbert, and Muller, Alois (eds.), The

Experience of Dying. N.Y., Concilium #94, Herder &

Herder, 1974. Distributed by Seabury Press, 815 2nd

Ave., New York 10017, $3.95.

Grollman, Earl A. (ed.), Concerning Death: A Practical

Guide for the Living, Boston, Beacon Press, 1974, $3.95.

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth, Questions and Answers on Death

and Dying. N.Y., Macmillan, 1974, $1.50.

, On Death and Dying. N.Y., Macmillian,

1969, $1.50.

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth (ed.). Death: The Final Stage of

Growth, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1975,

$2.95.

Marx, Rev. Paul, Death Without Dignity: Killing for

Mercy, 1975. Available from: For Life, Inc., 1917

Xerxes Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. 55411. Cost: 60#

Quantity rates available.

Nowell, Robert, What a Modern Catholic Believes about

Death. Chicago, Thomas More, 1972, $2.45.

Pincus, Lily, Death and the Family. N.Y., Pantheon

Books, 1974, $8.95.

Ramsey, Paul, The Patient as Person. New Haven, Conn.,

Yale Univ. Press, 1970, $3.25.

Steinfels, Peter (ed.), Death Inside Out. N.Y., Harper

Forum paperback, 1975. Available Nov., 1975.

43



Death and Dying

St. John-Stevas, Norman, “Euthanasia: A Pleasant
Sounding Word.” America, 31 May 1975, pp. 421-422.

Mass Media Ministries, 2116 N. Charles St., Baltimore,

Md. 21218. Rental: $17.50.

Veatch, Robert, Death and Dying. Chicago, Claretian

Publications, 1971, 154.

Death, b/w. Terminal illness of a 52-year old man filmed

at Calvary Hospital, Bronx, N.Y. Filmmakers Library,

290 W. End Ave., New York, N.Y. 10023. Rental: $35.

Information on state legislation concerning

euthanasia and “Death with Dignity” bills is available

from: Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities,

1312 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.

20005.

Those Who Mourn, 5 min., b/w and color. Through

memory flashbacks, the film explores the death of one

man and its meaning to his wife. Teleketics, Franciscan

Communications Center, 1229 S. Santee St., Los Angeles,

Calif. 90015. Tel.: 213/748-8331. Rental: $10;

Purchase: $80. Cat. No. 8120.

Films

To Die Today, b/w. Dr. Kiibler-Ross lectures on the

stages of dying, and, with medical students, interviews

a terminal patient. Filmmakers Library. Rental: $35.

All the Way Home, b/w. Full-length film version of

James Agee’s “A Death in the Family.” Films Inc., 440

Park Ave. So., New York 10016. Rental: $55.

Who Should Survive?, color. Reenactment of the famous

Johns Hopkins case in which a defective newborn is

permitted to die. Panel discussion follows. Mr. Herbert

Kramer, Lowengard & Brotherhood, 999 Asylum Ave.,

Hartford, Conn. 06105. Rental: $20.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, 27 min., b/w.

Viewers are caught up into what it means to face death.

Since its beginning in 1972, the Respect Life Program has focused attention on a number of important

issues. Although it is not possible to cover each issue every year, we would like to make reference to several

organizations and programs that can provide assistance on various aspects of the diocesan Respect Life

efforts.

• Bishops’ Committee for the Bicentennial, 1312 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. Tel:

202/659-6832.

• Bread for the World, 235 E. 49th St., New York, N.Y. 10017. Tel: 212/751-3925.

• Campaign for Human Development, 1312 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. Tel:

202/659-6694.

• National Apostolate for the Mentally Retarded, P.O. Box 4588, Washington, D.C. 20017. Tel:

202/462-1077.

Acknowledgment

The Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities expresses gratitude to all who have
collaborated in the publication of the 1975 Respect Life Handbook. Special

acknowledgment is given to the staff of the Bishops’ Committee, to Russell Shaw,

Secretary for Public Affairs, USCC, for editing the manuscript, to Father James

Doyle, CSC of the Kennedy Institute for Bioethics at Georgetown University for
preparing the section on “Death and Dying,” and to Francis P. Frost, Director of

Creative Services, USCC, for photography.

44





Coordinated by the Bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities

Mtienal Conference of Catholic Bishops