Evangelium vitae () translated in English as 'The Gospel of Life', is a papal encyclical published on 25 March 1995 (on that year's Feast of the Annunciation) by Pope John Paul II. It is a comprehensive document setting out the teaching of the Catholic Church on the sanctity of human life and related issues including murder, abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment, reaffirming the Church's stances on these issues in a way that is generally considered consistent with previous church teachings.
Contents
Summary
Evangelium vitae begins with an overview of threats to human life, both past and present, and gives a brief history of the many biblical prohibitions against killing and how this relates to the concept of a culture of life. The encyclical then addresses specific actions in light of these passages, including abortion (quoting Tertullian, who called abortion "anticipated murder to prevent someone from being born"), euthanasia (which John Paul II calls "a disturbing perversion of mercy"), and the death penalty. According to John Paul II and the magisterium the only potentially acceptable use of the death penalty is when it would not otherwise be possible to defend society, a situation which he considered rare if not non-existent in contemporary society.Evangelium vitae, section 56
The encyclical also addresses social and environmental factors, stressing the importance of a society which is built around the family rather than a wish to improve efficiency, and emphasizing the duty to care for the poor and the sick. It also deals with the proper place of sex in the relationship of marriage and the education of adolescent teenagers about relationships and sexuality.
Along with its introduction and conclusion, the letter contains four chapters:
I. Present-day threats to human life (sections 7-28); II. The Christian message concerning life (sections 29–51); III. God's holy law (sections 52–77); IV. For a new culture of human life (sections 78–101).
Part I, which centres on a study of the biblical story of Cain and Abel (in Genesis chapter 4), refers to the Catholic understanding of the "roots of violence" against life (sections 7-9), a perceived "eclipse" of the value of life (10-17), a "perverse" idea of freedom of the strong over the weak (18-20), and a related "eclipse" of the sense of God and of man in human experience (21-24). It concludes with a reflection on signs of hope and an invitation to commitment (sections 25-28).
Part II begins by asking readers to fix their gaze on Christ as "the Word of life" as expressed in 1 John (sections 29-31) and views Jesus Christ as bringing life's meaning to fulfilment in the uncertainties of human life (32-33) and "God's glory [shining] on the face of man" (34-36). John Paul continues by reflecting on the "gift of eternal life" (37-28), reverence and love for every human life (39-41), and man's responsibility for life (42-43). Teaching on the dignity of the unborn child (44-45), life in old age and at times of suffering (46-47), the consistency of the Bible regarding the value of life (48-49), and the Crucifixion of Jesus (sections 50-51) is also included.
Part III, following a brief introduction to the biblical concept of commandment (52-57), affirms the Church's condemnation of abortion (58-63) and euthanasia (64-67), and discusses the roles of civil law and moral law (68-74), and the promotion of life (sections 75-76).
Part IV describes the Church as "a people of life and for life" (sections 78-79) and continues with teaching on the proclamation (80-82) and celebration (83-86) and service to carry out (87-91) the encyclical's message. Partricular attention is given to the family as the "sanctuary of life" (92-94) and bringing about a "transformation of culture" for the whole of society (sections 95-101).
In terms of historical context, John Paul II alluded to his experience of the Second World WarEvangelium vitae, sections 17, 70 and also to the Rerum novarum encyclical of Pope Leo XIII (1891) which sought to protect vulnerable workers.Evangelium vitae, section 5
The encyclical quoted from and complemented the Catechism of the Catholic Church (then newly published in 1992) at a time when Catholics who had previously lived under communist regimes had more freedom to learn from the Church's teachings, following the end of the Cold War.
Murder John Paul II regretted the "progressive weakening of individual consciences and in society" around the "direct taking of all innocent human life, especially at its beginning and its end". He affirmed:
While attempts on the life of John Paul II are not mentioned, he would have written Evangelium vitae with the knowledge of the attempted assassinations in 1981 and 1982 and the Bojinka plot discovered shortly before his visit to World Youth Day 1995 in the Philippines in January of that year.
Abortion
Evangelium vitae accepted that "the decision to have an abortion is often tragic and painful for the mother" although this can "never justify the deliberate killing of an innocent human being". The potential pressures on the pregnant woman from the father of the child, the wider family circle and friends, doctors and nurses were also acknowledged.Evangelium vitae, sections 58, 59
While John Paul II noted that the Bible's texts "never address the question of deliberate abortion and so do not directly and specifically condemn it ... they show such great respect for the human being in the mother's womb" that a logical consequence was that "You shall not kill" be extended to the unborn child as well. Christian tradition, he added, was "clear and unanimous, from the beginning up to our own day, in describing abortion as a particularly grave moral disorder.Evangelium vitae, section 61 Given this "unanimity in the doctrinal and disciplinary tradition of the Church", Pope Paul VI was able to declare that this tradition regarding abortion is "unchanged and unchangeable". John Paul II stated:
In the year of the encyclical's publication, 1,210,883 legal abortions were officially recorded in the USA and 163,638 in England and Wales. In continental Europe, however, the Catholic Church perceived progress in several conservative policies at a national law, the conscientious objection of King Baudouin to abortion law in Belgium, and the adoption of a commitment to the effect that "[everyone] has the right to life [and human] life is worthy of protection already before birth" in the new Constitution of Slovakia.
Miscarriage and stillbirth Evangelium vitae does not directly refer to miscarriage or stillbirth but affirms that life begins at conception and therefore unborn children whose lives are lost in those ways have value to God:
The encyclical refers to the 1992 Catechism which calls for human life to be "respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception" and states that from the first moment of existence, "a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life".Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2270
Catholic canon law allows for children whom the parents intended to baptize but who died before baptism (therefore included miscarried or stillborn children) to be given funeral rites.Code of Canon Law, Book IV, No. 1183
Contraception and sterilization John Paul II addressed the accusation that the Catholic Church was "actually promoting abortion, because she obstinately continues to teach the moral unlawfulness of contraception" – this critique also asserted that "contraception, if made safe and available to all, is the most effective remedy against abortion."Evangelium vitae, section 13
In his response, he maintained that a "contraceptive mentality" was very different from responsible parenthood; indeed, it would "strengthen this temptation [to proceed with an abortion] when an unwanted life is conceived." John Paul II also noted that a "pro-abortion culture is especially strong precisely where the Church's teaching on contraception is rejected" and suggested that, in many instances, contraceptive practices were "rooted in a hedonistic mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of sexuality, and [...] imply a self-centered concept of freedom, which regards procreation as an obstacle to personal fulfilment."Evangelium vitae, section 13
Furthermore, he linked contraception, sterilization and abortion together in several references in his own critique of human population planning policies.
The US Government had been pursuing population control as part of its foreign policy since the 1970s, following National Security Study Memorandum 200 which was declassified in 1989.
As an alternative, John Paul II proposed that governments and international agencies should "strive to create economic, social, public health and cultural conditions which will enable married couples to make their choices about procreation in full freedom and with genuine responsibility." This, he contended, should be followed by global efforts to ensure "greater opportunities and a fairer distribution of wealth so that everyone can share equitably in the goods of creation."Evangelium vitae, section 91
Euthanasia
The discussion of euthanasia coincided with initial public and legislative debates in the Netherlands following the Remmelink Report in 1991, the Oregon Ballot Measure referendum in the USA in 1994, and legislation in the Northern Territory of Australia through the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (repealed in 1997).
John Paul II suggested that when the prevailing tendency in society is "to value life only to the extent that it brings pleasure and well-being, suffering seems like an unbearable setback, something from which one must be freed at all costs." The secular mind therefore views death as "rightful liberation" once life is held to be no longer meaningful "because it is filled with pain and inexorably doomed to even greater suffering."
He cautioned that while euthanasia "might seem logical and humane, when looked at more closely [it] is seen to be senseless and inhumane" and associated with an "excessive preoccupation with efficiency" in modern society, which sees the growing number of elderly and disabled people as "intolerable and too burdensome." These people, he added, "are very often isolated by their families and by society".Evangelium vitae, section 64
Euthanasia ― defined as "an action or omission which of itself and by intention causes death, with the purpose of eliminating all suffering" ― was distinguished from decisions to forego medical treatment, towards the end of a life, which was "disproportionate to any expected results" or because they impose an "excessive burden on the patient and his family;" the latter, he maintained, expresses acceptance of the human condition in the face of death when this is "clearly imminent and inevitable."
Palliative care was strongly commended as part of modern medicine for making suffering more bearable in the final stages of an illness and to ensure that the patient is "supported and accompanied in his or her ordeal". He restated teaching by Pope Pius XII that it is licit to relieve pain by narcotics "even when the result is decreased consciousness and a shortening of life" where a serious reason permits this course of treatment.Evangelium vitae, section 65
John Paul II died at the age of 84 on 2 April 2005, and received palliative care in the days before his death at his residence in the Vatican City.
Capital punishment