Peter Leuthold Leuthold 1
Dr. Ellis
12/02/07
Event Analysis

Pro-life Lecture by Bishop Aquila

On November 15th, I attended a lecture by Bishop Aquila held by Loyola’s Alive club. The main issues discussed were the connections between being pro-life incorporated in our Catholic faith along with similar topics such as the death penalty, stem-cell research, and genocide.
This was a very interesting lecture to attend for me because the night before I had to research information on abortions, and therefore, it was relevant and fresh in my memory. As a Catholic, I am strictly against abortions (pro-life), and believe that they are morally wrong. Bishop Aquila spoke about how important our lives are because we have been sacrificed by God and so we must never think about harming ourselves or the lives of anyone else. Bishop Aquila depicted abortions, one of the most controversial topics in the United States, as a threat to our society. While listening to Bishop Aquila I immediately thought about the principle of Double Effect regarding abortions, something which all Catholics are required to follow. For example, the action of the agent must be a good one. The pregnant woman must also have the right intention and the evil effect cannot be the means to the good occurring. These two statements indicate that in order to avoid abortions we must reduce un-wanted pregnancies.
Another important issue which Bishop Aquila felt was necessary to mention was the death penalty. He claimed that the death penalty was created by the government in order to punish those who have themselves committed murders in their lives, but that he still feels that they are against what God would have wanted. Those people who deserve to be killed should simply remain behind bars until their death. Along with the death penalty, stem-cell research
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and genocide were also touched upon regarding our Catholic faith. Bishop Aquila stated that like abortions, the death penalty, stem-cell research, and genocide are all morally unacceptable for Christians revealing that they must be avoided, and should not be accepted in our communities throughout the United States. I agreed with many of the points which Bishop Aquila was lecturing about because I have been raised in a very Catholic family. Attending a private Jesuit high school, and now Loyola College, my Jesuit values have been shaping me to be who I am today. Without the influence from my family and friends, I feel as if my views on controversial topics such as abortions could be different, but as of now I will always be against the killing of an embryo.
When I attended Bishop Aquila’s lecture on November 15th, I was able to reflect on my life as a Roman Catholic in a Jesuit Institution. Knowing that Bishop Aquila was connecting the idea of being a pro-life activist with our Catholic faith made me feel that my Jesuit values have been helping me to become closer with God, and have had an influence on my peers. When I was a sophomore in high school I participated in a pro-life activity with our pro-life club where we traveled from New Rochelle, New York to Washington D.C. in order to promote the ideas of not having abortions, making them illegal. This event had an enormous impact on all the people driving past us.
Thus, at Bishop Aquila’s lecture on November 15th, I learned many different things regarding abortions, genocide, stem-cell research, and the death penalty. From a Catholic perspective, they are all morally unacceptable in our society. Being pro-life is something which has had a big impact on my life because of the issue of killing an embryo which I consider murder. I feel as if the death penalty is wrong; however, it may never fade out in the judicial
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system. Bishop Aquila was very successful in his argument that as Catholics, we must continue to strive in becoming closer to God, and continue to remain against controversial issues such as abortions.