I remember the first time I read the John's Gospel. I was horribly confused by different it was from the other Gospels. How did it fit together with the others?
In fact, it wasn't even clear how Matthew, Mark, and Luke fit together.
Recently I've spent some time laying out the various events and trying to piece them together. The citations marked with a '*' are those which had to be moved out of the sequence in which they appear in their own Gospel.
Here goes:
The core assertion of the Pro-Life movement is that children in their mothers’ wombs are real human beings whose lives should be protected. The Catechism states the following:
“The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. [It] must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority” - CCC 2273
Therefore, it is mandatory for Catholics to demand the total abolition of abortion. Whether it happens all at once or gradually, it must be our goal.
The Welfare-State Alternative:
Unfortunately, many people feel a tension between various political commitments and want to find a way out of this duty. The most common tactic is to claim the economic policies of Pro-Choice politicians will “reduce the need for abortion”. And thus the Pro-Choice politician is the more practical option for a true Pro-Life voter.
Now, whether or not a robust welfare state is a good policy choice is besides the point. Catholics can disagree on that in good conscience. But there are huge problems – (both practical and philosophical) - with using the goal of a social welfare state to dismiss the need for legally protecting the unborn.
