4. THE THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE VARIOUS CONCEPTS OF HUMAN DIGNITY IN
4.8. EVANGELIUM VITAE AS ONE OF THE MAIN ENCYCLICALS ON THE SOCIAL TEACHING
4.8.2. HOW RELEVANT IS EVANGELIUM VITAE IN RELATION TO THE EXISTENTIAL
The publication of Evangelium Vitae by Pope John Paul II was an appeal for conversion and a renewal of our social life in relation to the respect for the image of God innate in each person.932 In his appeal, the Holy Father articulated words full of stimulating suggestions for the human efforts to change the situation of vulnerable people in the world.933 We can then affirm that he brought about, a renewed zeal for the appreciation of human life in its totality.
There was a realization of the difficulties from some sectors of life to embrace change, at the
930 Evangelium Vitae, Art. Nos: 53-57.
931Ibid.
932 Evangelium Vitae, Article No. 6. In this article, the Pope stated the vision of hope he had; saying: ‘I wrote to all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love.
933 Ibid.
same time, the people of God were empowered to review the social and legal situation facing children with disabilities.934 It is from this vantage point that the encyclical letter is still valid and relevant today in the world specially in Africa where the plight of children with disabilities is still challenged. The Pope further stated;
“The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus ‘message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as good news to people of every age and culture. Even amid difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to the truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart, the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every human community and the political community itself is founded.”935
From this perspective, the current discourse is putting before us a challenge to the review our policies in the region and re-examine the medical practice that has failed our children with disabilities. The social life of our children with disabilities will be uplifted if review the demerits that affect the implementation of the norms that are provided. In the process of the defence for the vulnerable life of children with disabilities, the encyclical sets before us certain provisions that are practical in bring up a culture of life. There is an appeal for the change of mentality towards children with disabilities.936 Right from the beginning, if people change their mentality, then that is a positive sign of hope for the future of our children with disabilities.937 The pope further called all humanity to be agents of change and the Gospel of life as provisions from where we can start to affirm the life of children with disabilities.938 The act of abandoning, dumping or killing children with disabilities still forms one of the moral dilemmas of contemporary society. The implications on the Church and the future of humanity are profound. It compromises the dignity of the human person and derails integral human development. Christian values are highly challenged, posing a threat to the message of the Gospel itself.939 Scientific developments in the medical field and technology in general seem to have come with a different worldview on the reality of children with disabilities.
This has brought about a unique human perception that considers various practical realities
934 Ibid.
935 Anderson, C.A., (2000), Legislation and Jurisprudence in the United States and Canada with Regard for Respect for Human Life, A Paper Presented to the meeting of the Pontifical Academy for Life Meeting in February in Rome, in http://www.academiavita.org/pdf/assemblies/06/evangelium-vitae-five-years- confrontation-with-the-society.pdf, Paragraph 2, Posted on December 20, 21:09 GMT.
936 Ibid.
937 Ibid.
938 Evangelium Vitae, Article No. 4
939 Rosica, T., (2015), Marriage and the Family: Humanity’s Future, in http://www.saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=66199&language=en, Posted on September 29, 21:20 GMT.
of human life.940 The evolutional progression in the change of perception towards infants born with disabilities seems to put infants in the disadvantaged category, rendering them vulnerable. The encyclical discussed this reality at length. Such a negative mentality has created a wide gap regarding the way some scholars perceive issues of morality and the morality behind the denial of human identity of the infants who are born with disabilities.941 On the broader level, there is no single consensus on the issue of human dignity and identity of children with disabilities though it seems that there is a clear justification for the elimination of children with severe disabilities942. The justification implicitly lies on the fact that they are regarded as non-human hence they can be disposed of.943 They are perceived as unwanted and not worthy of living, since they are unproductive and do not possess the vital faculties of human life.944 Some of them possess certain features that put their human identity in doubt. The fact that some of them remain in a vegetative state raises serious moral questions of whether it is sensible to keep them living, particularly in the context of the economic hardships that render most families unable to cope with them.945 Observing the sociological perspectives from the first chapter, we note that many families residing in the rural settings, lack the economic and psychological tools to deal with the situation.946 It is out of this context that the situation of these infants promises to be one of the moral quandaries of our time. Evangelium Vitae came as a forceful statement on the question of moral questions of that nature and it provided critical theological principles against the existence of the culture of death.947 We therefore argue that the encyclical letter is still relevant today considering the volatile situation facing children with disabilities. It is there to inform and form society on certain issues that pertinent to the life of children with
940 Ibid.
941 Ritchie, M., (2013), Children Born with Disabilities: How Families Respond, in Child Research Net Journal in http://www.childresearch.net/papers/rights/2013-01.html, Posted on May 10, Children’s Rights and Well- being, Assessed on December 20, 11:19 GMT.
942 Ibid.
943 Anderson, C.A., (2000), Legislation and Jurisprudence in the United States and Canada with Regard for Respect for Human Life, A Paper Presented to the meeting of the Pontifical Academy for Life Meeting in February in Rome, in http://www.academiavita.org/pdf/assemblies/06/evangelium-vitae-five-years- confrontation-with-the-society.pdf, Paragraph 2, Posted on December 20, 21:09 GMT.
944 Ibid.
945 Ibid.
946 Read chapter one on the socio-economic and political situation of KwaZulu-Natal as out-lined in this discourse.
947 Evangelium Vitae, Article No.4. The article further states that unfortunately, this disturbing state of affairs, far from decreasing, is expanding: with the new prospects opened by scientific and technological progress there arise new forms of attacks on the dignity of the human being. At the same time a new cultural climate is developing and taking hold, which gives crimes against life a new and if possible even more sinister character, giving rise to further grave concern: broad sectors of public opinion justify certain crimes against life in the name of the rights of individual freedom and on the basis they claim not only exemption from punishment but even authorization by the state, so that these things can be done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance of health care systems.
disabilities. The existential realities of children with disabilities persistently rock society and pose a crucial moral dilemma. There are still families who are frustrated due the birth of a child with disabilities and they might be considering child abandonment, dumping or killing of the children with disabilities since they frustrate the aspirations of the parents, who regard them as unwanted children. John Paul II wrote the encyclical letter as a means of assisting couples, families, parents, the Church, and society at large, on how to deal with certain realities of life, namely moral dilemmas.948 It intended to bring about a message of hope for families and the infants themselves. The stand of Evangelium Vitae is clear. It is against any act of the deliberate killing of innocent human life and any other legal acts related to it.949 The encyclical upholds the sanctity of human life, in whatever form, thereby preserving the inherent right to life of any person.950 The contemporary situation presents the existential condition of children with disabilities to be one of the most vulnerable groups of people in society citing that some children with disabilities are abandoned, dumped or sometimes killed.951 The encyclical is therefore still relevant and it reminds us of the sanctity of human life, upon which the theological principle of human dignity rests and is grounded. Therefore, the sanctity of life principle ought to be one of the basic principles on all issues of morality.
It sets a good moral platform on which to build a theology of human dignity in the context of the human situation of children with disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal.
4.10. THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE VARIOUS CONCEPTS OF HUMAN