General Intention for the Month of June 2010

(May 31, 2010) The General intention of the Holy Father or the Month of June: Respect for Human Life: That every national and international institution may strive to guarantee respect for human life from conception to natural death. The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence that the person cannot be disposed of at will. In particular the church promotes and defends respect for the life and the religious freedom of everyone. We respect human life because God gave it to us. We respect each and every human life also because God came to us with a human body. Jesus, God made man, loved us with a heart that was both human and divine. Humanity rejected God’s plan, but God didn’t give up on us. He God sent his Son to live and die and be raised so that we could live forever in union with God. Jesus died for babies developing in the womb as he also died for elderly people who have lost their faculties. These are lives to be respected and cared for until God calls them home in a natural death. Our world has many official proclamations and documents affirming that all are “created equal” with certain “inalienable rights.” That’s a good start. Yet those basic human rights are often denied to whole populations, such as the un-born. Pope Benedict XVI asks us to pray that national and international institutions may go further than they ever have and proclaim the human right to life from conception to natural death. The Pope has said that safeguarding God’s creation begins with safeguarding human life in the womb. “If we wish to build true peace,” said Pope Benedict, “how can we separate...the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man’s respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown. Today the Holy Father calls on us to extend our support to human life in the universe.