Tag Archives: family

Dear Gabby – Euthanizing and Eternal Life of Pets

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Dear Gabby,
What does the Catholic Church teach on euthanizing pets? I will probably have to put down my old dog after years spent with our family. My kids will no doubt ask about whether or not they will see our dog in heaven. What does the Church say about that?
-Greg

 Hi Greg-

So sorry to hear the bad news about your dog. It is certainly difficult to lose a beloved pet and even harder perhaps to make the decision to put it down.

Your questions have both an easy and hard answer. The easy answer comes from the theology of the Church itself. Since animals are not made in the image and likeness of God and do not have immortal souls, it is acceptable to euthanize an animal humanely.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church doesn’t say directly say that pets will or will not go to heaven but it does give some guidance. All living things have a soul (it’s what makes a body alive) and when it does, the soul is separated from the body. In man, the soul is immortal so it keeps on living but the soul of an animal, or plant even, is not immortal and simply ceases to exist once the body perishes. Also, a key difference between humans and animals is that humans have the intelligence to choose God’s will or not, and after death will see God…or not.

Which all leads to the hard answer – how do you tell a child that they won’t see their favorite pet in heaven? Well, first, in heaven we won’t really be concerned with anything besides living in God’s glory (he will be sufficient) and secondly, with God all things are possible so I suppose that whenever we get to heaven, we can ask God for some time with our favorite pet.

For Him,

Gabby

 

Have a question for Gabby? Send to stmichaelsociety@gmail.com.

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New Dear Gabby: A gay family member and culture wars

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Dear Gabby,

 I have a serious question but don’t even know really where to start it.  My cousin told me her and her boyfriend confronted her son about whether or not he was a homosexual and turns out he admitted he was.  She told him it didn’t matter if he was and that she loved him no matter what.  She told me about it and also and I praised her for loving her son unconditionally but that I could not condone his homosexuality. Needless to say, she got very upset with me and our relationship became almost non-existent.  We got past it and started chatting again.  Then, she was watching a show called Sex and the City and I told her my husband calls the show Sluts in the City and she really did not like that and told us we are seriously wrong about the show and that her and her girlfriends go out on the town and I guess relates their actions to the actions of the people on this show.  Well, we no longer talk.  Her brother no longer talks to me and her mom doesn’t either.  They are my family.  Was I wrong in telling her either of these things?  What, as Catholics, are we to say to family and friends about things like these?  Nothing?  Tolerate it?  Or, do what I did?  I am unsure.  Thank you.

Maria Mendoza
Dear Maria,

Thank you for the tough questions. I’ll try to answer them separately.

The Catholic Church strives to be considerate and compassionate in its approach to the issue of homosexuality. Every human being is made in the image and likeness of God and therefore holds a unique and special dignity, no matter what their sexual preference is. The Church recognizes homosexual desires as disordered. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies . . . must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (2358)

Because homosexual acts are regarded as “intrinsically disordered” and against natural law, the Catechism states that “[Homosexual acts] close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (2357) So condoning homosexuality itself is different than supporting homosexual acts.

Of course you can love your cousin and her son but condoning homosexual acts themselves is against Church law.

Regarding your question about what to say regarding television shows that support behavior contrary to Church teachings – today’s culture seems to praise everything against Church teachings like promiscuous behavior, abortion, gay marriage, artificial contraception, and the like while condemning actions that Catholics are intended to follow like chastity and traditional marriage.

A quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi is “Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.” Your actions will speak to your beliefs and while we are called to preach Church teachings, we should remember to do it compassionately and with love.

Hope this helps.

For Him,
Gabby

 Have a question for Gabby? Send to stmichaelsociety@gmail.com.

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It’s Not Just Health Care, Climate Change Policies Take Aim at The Unborn

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While many Catholics and pro-life organizations have rightly focused their efforts on keeping abortion and euthanasia out of health care, population control advocates are pushing hard for global populationist  policies as a way to neutralize climate change.  Steve Mosher has a story revealing these efforts from a few days ago here. http://bit.ly/3nmoE

Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chairman of the Pro-Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, recently took issue with environmentalists pushing for population control, via abortion (including vacuum abortions), abortifacients and other forms of contraception, as a way to confront climate change.  The Cardinal also advocated for larger families when he emphasized that small family sizes are bankrupting Social Security and Medicare.

Cardinal Rigali criticizes population control as way to curb climate change

Cardinal Rigali criticizes population control as way to curb climate change

Cardinal Rigali:

“It should not be surprising that the neglect, and even the death, of some people are offered as a solution to rising health care costs. Population control advocates have long espoused aborting children in the developing world as a misguided means for reducing poverty.

“Some environmentalists now claim that the most efficient way to curb global climate change is to make ‘family planning’ more widely available in the developing world. They report that an average of 2.3 pounds per day of exhaled carbon dioxide can be eliminated from the atmosphere by eliminating one human being. As used by population control advocates, the innocuous term ‘family planning’ includes abortifacient contraceptives, sterilization, and manual vacuum aspiration abortions …

Since the advent of widespread contraception and abortion, a cultural hostility to children has grown. They are often depicted as costly encumbrances who interfere with a carefree adult life. No fewer than six recent books are dedicated to defending the childless-by-choice lifestyle – for selfish reasons, or to counter ‘overpopulation,’ a thoroughly discredited myth. In fact, if married couples were to have more children, Medicare and Social Security would not be hurtling toward bankruptcy.

“Since 1955, because of fewer children and longer life spans, the number of workers has declined relative to the number of beneficiaries, from 8.6 to only 3.1 workers paying benefits to support each beneficiary. Without substantially more young people to enter the work force as young adults, in 25 years, there will be only 2.1 workers supporting each beneficiary. Eliminating our young does not solve problems even on pragmatic grounds. It adds to them.”

Amen.

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