Roman Catholic Church speaks out on Abortion

The Three Roman Catholic Bishops in Jamaica, Most Rev. Lawrence A. Burke, S.J., D.D., Archbishop of Kingston; Most Rev. Charles H. Dufour, D.D.,Bishop of Montego Bay and Most Rev. Gordon D. Bennett, S.J., D.D.,Bishop of Mandeville have issued the following  statement :

In response to the call of certain doctors and other persons in our Jamaican society requesting our Government to legalize abortion, we the Roman Catholic Bishops of Jamaica respectfully remind all Jamaicans of the Roman Catholic Church’s position on this most important matter.

The Roman Catholic Church believes that:

1)         All human life is sacred.

2)         Human life begins at the moment of conception and ends with natural death.

3)         It is the obligation of a civilized society to protect all human life, especially those who are most vulnerable and who are unable to speak for themselves.

4)         An unborn child is a full human being worthy of dignity, respect and protection by society and, in particular, by the Government.

5)         It is the duty of all in the medical profession to protect and heal human beings, not to destroy human life.

6)         It is a grave act of injustice to deny an unborn child the right to life which is the first and most fundamental of human rights, the right on which every other human right depends.

7)         Abortion is rightly considered in our present Jamaican law as an Offence against the Person’s Act and is equivalent to murder.

8)         Abortion is against the law of God as well as against the natural law.

 These beliefs are based on Sacred Scripture and the constant Tradition and teaching of the Church from its founding by Our Lord, Jesus Christ.