The Word of God and the Sanctity of the Human Life

2021 Laity Week Celebration

(Being text of speech delivered by Pascal Chimezie, the publisher of Torchlight news, on behalf of the St. Leo’s Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria, during the 2021 Parish Laity Week on March 19, 2021, at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja Lagos-Nigeria).

Bro Pascal Chimezie

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ.

I consider it great privilege and honour to have this invitation extended to me to make this presentation on behalf the Charismatic Renewal.

I thank the organizers of this year's Laity Week and, indeed, the Parish Laity Council (PLC), for their great efforts. May God bless you all in Jesus Mighty Name.

I was just wondering what must have been in the mind of the organizers when they chose this topic: "The word of God and the sanctity of the human life." And also how relevant and apt is the topic in our present day Nigeria? I must say they are in the spirit when they chose the topic, because it seeks to take us deep into the state of anomie and tragedy we have found ourselves today as Nigerians, given our present circumstances! Before we delve into the main heart of the topic, let us, first, understand some key words in the topic.

Definition of terms

1. The Word of God

The word of God is God Himself. God is a self existing, supernatural living, Being; the Creator of all that is “seen and unseen” (CCC 325). The word of God is God’s disposition, character, attitude, goodness, everything about God. The Scripture, which is the Christian Bible is the written Word of God. But the Word of God is also a Living Being, a Person! Theologians made us to understand that God, in a unique process known as "intellectual generation," eternally reproduces a perfect likeness of Himself. This exact "copy" of God Himself becomes the Word of God; and the current of mutual exchange of love between these two (Father and the Son), becomes the Holy Spirit. 

St. John, the Evangelist, in his poetic Gospel prologue, wrote,

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God,

And the Word became flesh

And dwells among us” (John 1:1,14).

The Word of God is Jesus Christ.

St. Paul's letter to the Colossians (1:15, 2:9) tells us that "Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God…For in him dwells the whole fullness of the divine nature bodily, and you share in his fullness in him."

Christ himself said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (John 14:9-10), "I am the truth and the way and the life" (John 14:6).

Here we are looking at, God's position about the human life.

2. Sanctity of life

The phrase, “sanctity of human life” implies that human life is sacred and precious.

The word "sacred" means sanctified, consecrated, holy and precious. Why is human life sacred?

CCC 2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end."

Gen. 1:26, the story of creation, tells us that when God wanted to create man, He said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us" (GNB).

Man, therefore, is the summit of God's creation. And he is clearly distinguished from all other creatures (CCC 343).

"God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being" (CCC 2258). 

So, to what extent has man been faithful to the preservation and the sanctity of the human life?

First homicide in the Scripture and how God reacted to it

Gen. 4:8 presents us with first case of murder in the Scripture. Cain killed his brother, Abel. Promptly, God reacted. “Cain, where is your brother?,” asked God. The question was loaded. “Why have you done this terrible thing?” God described the act as "terrible." “Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for vengeance. You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil. It has soaked up your brother’s blood as if it had opened its mouth to receive it when you killed him” (Gen. 4:9-11).  (I believe the Organizers must have been reflecting seriously the import of these God's words spoken to Cain in relation to what has been happening in Nigeria in recent times).

1. Every act of intentional killing goes with dire consequence, judgment and justice.

2. Anger, envy, hatred and ignorance of the word of God - all of them being fallout of man's original sin - are at the root of every act of murder. 

"Every moral deviation is rooted in ignorance of the word of God" (CCC 2087, cf.Rom.1:18-32). 

“Thou shall not kill”

Exodus 20 recorded the Ten Commandments God issued to His people The fifth Commandment is: “You shall not commit murder”(Exodus 20:13). The fifth Commandment forbids direct and intentional killing, because it's gravely sinful. The murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance. 

The Abominable Killings in Nigeria

For five consecutive years, since 2015, the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has consistently ranked Nigeria 3rd country most impacted by terrorism and violent death. In its year 2020 report, GTI rated Nigeria as one of the five countries classified as being in a "state of war": The five countries are Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, Somalia and Yemen. Of course, you are aware that the GTI classified the Fulani herdsmen as the 4th most deadly terror group in the world! And they operate only in Nigeria. This is not ethnic profiling, but facts on the ground. 

In 2018, GTI reported that these extremists were responsible for the majority of terror-related deaths in Nigeria at 1,158 fatalities. Remember the killing of two young priests in Benue state in 2018, which sparked off nationwide protests by the Catholic Church.

GTI 2020 Report says that “Boko Haram, Nigeria’s deadliest terrorist group, recorded an increase in terrorist activity mainly targeted at civilians by 25 per cent from the previous year, while Fulani extremists were responsible for 26 per cent of terror-related deaths in Nigeria within the year under review.”

 

Amnesty International estimated that more than 2,000 were killed in 2018 alone in herdsmen-farmers clashes.

Daily Trust newspaper, Sunday March 14, reported that, "In the last two months (Jan.-Feb.), 212 people have died in Kaduna State alone, following several attacks by bandits in 10 local government areas of the state. The Kaduna State government said the number represents a quarter of the 937 people that lost their lives to bandits last year." Nigeria has become an Akeldama, a killing field where blood flows every day. Just check the front pages of our national dailies.

The extra judicial killing in Nigeria is abominable and condemnable. It is barbaric, heartless, uncivilized, cowardly, crude and ungodly. It is a grave sin, a violation of the word of God regarding the sanctity of human life.

It is a violation of the express provisions of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

 It is a violation of Part 1, Art.4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which clearly states that, "Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person.”

It is a violation of the UN Convention on Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10th Dec. 1948, Art.3, which guarantees right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.

Article.5 “No one has the right to inflict torture, or to subject anyone else to cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment,” because “All men are born free.”

Do you know that even other lower creatures have right to live, and that no one is permitted to kill them recklessly? That is why we have several groups, NGOs. Some are into wildlife conservation and protection. Some protecting certain animal species against poaching, lest the species goes into extinction. Some protect environment, forests and green lives.

 

Pope Francis, in his Encyclical, Laudato Si, discussed extensively on this, and frowned at what he called, "the culture of death," which we have allowed to creep into our daily existence.

Culture of Silence

Perhaps the more worrisome trend in Nigeria at the moment is the culture of silence in the face of pervasive evil. There are a number of ways someone can take part or share in the guilt and punishment due to another's crime. By counsel, command, consent, praise, flattery, concealment, partnership, provocation, or silence (CCD329).

Abortion

The human life is also under direct attack from abortion 

“73.3 million abortions worldwide per year; approx 139 abortions per minute,” according to CitizenGo, World NGO.

In Nigeria, abortions are common. They are done secretly by both professional and unskilled providers. Unsafe abortion is a major contributor to the country’s high levels of maternal death, ill health and disability. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, and little improvement has been made over the years.

Study shows that an estimated 1.25 million induced abortions took place in 2012. The number doubled from an estimated 610,000 in 1996 because of both population growth and an increase in the rate of abortion.

A closer look at the statistics shows that in the South West and North Central zones 27 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–49 occurred in 2012. In the North West and South East zones, 31 abortions per 1,000 pregnancies; and 41 and 44 per 1,000 in the North East and South South zones, respectively.

The Catholic Church is against abortion in all circumstances. ... Abortion is murder, a great moral evil. Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.

Pope Pius XII said, "Every human being, even the child in the womb, has the right to life directly from God and not from his parents, not from any society or human authority."

Other threat elements to sanctity of human life.

The value of human life is being  threatened by Unemployment (33% NBS report), Poverty (Nigeria is poverty capital of the world), lack of access to affordable quality healthcare, Sickness & diseases (made worse by Coronavirus), Thuggery and touting, Prostitution, Drug Addiction, Human trafficking and slavery, Corruption, Reckless use of firearms by overzealous security agents. Also cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. Intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We should not be unnecessarily stoking inter religious crisis such as the one hijab is causing in Kwara state. These are threat elements which do not guarantee the sanctity of the human life.

All  human beings, therefore, are ends to be served by the institutions that make up  the economy, not means to be exploited for more narrowly defined goals. Human person must be respected with a reverence that is religious. When we deal  with each other, we should do so with the sense of awe that arises in the  presence of something holy and sacred. For that is what human beings are: we  are created in the image of God (Gn 1:26). (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 28)

Every individual, precisely by reason of the mystery of  the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), is entrusted  to the maternal care of the Church. Therefore every threat to human dignity and  life must necessarily be felt in the Church's very heart; it cannot but affect  her at the core of her faith in the Redemptive Incarnation of the Son of God (St. John Paul II, The  Gospel of Life [Evangelium vitae], no. 3).

As formulated, the precept “You shall not  kill” is in the negative. It indicates the extreme limit which can never be  exceeded. Implicitly, however, it encourages a positive attitude of absolute  respect for life and leads to the promotion of life and progress along the  way of a love which gives, receives and serves. (St. John Paul II, The Gospel of Life [Evangelium vitae], no. 54).

This teaching rests on one basic principle:  individual human beings are the foundation, the cause and the end of every  social institution. That is necessarily so, for men are by nature social beings. (St. John XXIII, Mother and Teacher [Mater et Magistra],no. 219)

There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions  of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel: Their equal  dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane  conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and  peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against  social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international  peace. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1938)

Whatever  insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary  imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and  children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are  infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who  practice them than those who suffer from the injury. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World[Gaudium et Spes], no. 27)

Jesus and the New Commandment

Jesus expanded the Fifth Commandment, "You shall not kill," in Matthew 5:21-22, "You have heard that people were told in the past, 'Do not commit murder, anyone who does will be brought to trial.' But now l tell you, whoever is angry with his brother will be brought to trial."

He, therefore, summed up all the Ten Commandments in just two: Love of God and love of neighbour (John 15:12).

The Way Forward

1. Our voices must not be silent. We must continue to speak out, and speak truth to power. We must continue to speak against the pervasive evil in our time. Because what evil needs to triumph is for good men to see nothing, say nothing and do nothing.

2. We must continue to engage our political leaders, calling them out on what we think they are doing which is not right. We appreciate the wisdom of the Church in setting up JDPC. We acknowledge the good work of the Commission. We urge it to do more by taking up and challenging the various human rights issues against the Church and its members. After all, the Muslim Rights groups are doing the same.

3. The Church must find a way to engage and work very closely with her members in political authority, so as to ensure, at least, good policies that promote the practice of the Christian faith. We must be very strategic in this area. It is saddening to note that some professed Christians in positions of power sometimes play Judas by conniving to betray the same faith they claimed to profess! 

4. We should support the clamour for Restructuring of Nigeria to guarantee resource control and true federalism. It is long overdue. We cannot make much progress with the current structure.

In conclusion

Life is from God. Only God has right to take life. Love towards one's neighbour remains a fundamental teaching of Jesus Christ. We owe it a moral duty not only to defend and protect our own life, but also to preserve the life of others too. It is legitimate to insist on one's right to life. The government is not doing you a favour by protecting your life. It is a grave duty it owes to you, because it's your inalienable right. Life cannot be quantified. Everyone has a right to life which should be valued and protected.

Nigerians has, in recent times, become a killing field, a slaughter house, an Akeldama, where human blood flows like a river on daily basis! This has to stop! It is worst that those who violate the sanctity of human life the most are those who should protect it! We believe that the life of every human person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

Exclusion from economic right is a sure way to kill and degrade the human person.  They run contrary to the word of God which says, "increase and multiply,... have life, life in its abundance" (Gen.1:28, John 10:10).

Government must stop now the festering insecurity in Nigeria which has made life to become, in the words of French philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, "nasty, short and brutish." 

One Church, One Laity