Caritas is the Catholic Agency for justice, peace and development. It is the voice of the Catholic Church in New Zealand on justice issues both local and international; it seeks to make a difference to the lives of people living with poverty and injustice. Caritas at the request of New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops is again organising Social Justice Week, the issue for Justice Week is calling for a new attitude to crime and punishment. Caritas is also involved in other important issues, global warming, refugees and migrants, indigenous rights and overseas emergency aid.

Caritas is to be applauded and fully supported by the Catholic community for its untiring pursuit of justice, peace and development. These are important justice issues, the paramount justice issue is however the killing of unborn children.  The New Zealand Catholic Bishop’s Conference in 1989 issued a statement, titled “What is Wrong With Abortion”. They stated, “We accept as a duty –because we are Christians- a more vigorous concern for human rights and justice. As Bishops, we make no apology for being known to champion the weak, the unwanted and the defenceless. So we speak once more in defence of the unborn child’s right to life. This is the greatest human rights issue confronting New Zealand in our day.” Since the passing of the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977, more than 371,000 unborn children have been killed in New Zealand in their mother’s womb.

Pope John Paul 11 stated that, “A nation that kills its own children is a nation without a future”. He also said that,” There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws which seek to legitimate abortion and euthanasia, instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection”. He entreated the faithful to defend the lives of the unborn from the rooftop.  Each one of these children is God’s precious infant. What greater poverty is there than being deprived of your life? Why does Caritas not recognise the defence of unborn children as the paramount justice issue of our era?  What a wonderful blessing it would be if Caritas used its respected voice in season and out of season in defence of the right to life of our unborn children and the welfare of their mothers the second victim of abortion. John Paul 11 called on the nations of the world to give legal recognition to the status of unborn children as human beings endowed by God with an inalienable right to life. Caritas should be at the forefront in this justice issue by lobbying Parliament and government for this legal recognition.

Yours faithfully

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life New Zealand Inc.