Pope Says Abortion Evidence of 'Throwaway Culture'

“Francis has generally limited his exhortations about abortion, saying church teaching is well known and that he prefers to speak less about the church’s moralizing rules and more about its positive, welcoming message.”

Great. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.

Abortion and the wasting of food are not in the same league. And I don’t think they’re even “symptoms” of the same problem.

The wasting of food is largely due to various safety regulations and mandates. Most so-called “wasting” of food is due to excessive caution regarding spoilage.

Abortion is a Satanic practice, promoted by consciously Satanic individuals like Margaret Sanger and Nancy Pelosi. It is promoted by the Eugenics Movement, another Satanic force in the world. Abortion is the human sacrifice demanded by the Satanic sexual revolution.

I think the Pope trivializes abortion, and trivializes the motives behind its promotion.

And does the Pope show any consciousness that corrupt clerics like the notorious sodomite Donald Wuerl refuse to deny Communion to abortion promoters? He does not. He reportedly relies on deceivers and flatterers like Wuerl, O’Malley, and Dolan to keep tabs on the Church in the U.S.

Pope John Paul II was far more accurate when he labeled it a “Culture of Death.” “Throwaway Culture” sounds minor, like littering.

Here is the full paragraph (so that we have it in context):

Peace is also threatened by every denial of human dignity, firstly the lack of access to adequate nutrition. We cannot be indifferent to those suffering from hunger, especially children, when we think of how much food is wasted every day in many parts of the world immersed in what I have often termed “the throwaway culture”. Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as “unnecessary”. For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day; children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity.

He has spoken about this "throwaway culture" before:

On 7/22/13:

Young people at the moment are in crisis. We've become a little accustomed to a throw-away culture, and with the elderly and we do it far too much. With all these young people out of work, the throw-away culture is reaching them too. We must get rid of this throw-away mentality. We need a culture of inclusion, of encounter, a culture with the strength to bring everyone along in society. That's more or less the meaning I want to give to this visit to the young ... [to understand] youth within the larger society.

On 9/22/13:

God did not want the center of the world to be an idol, but man, man and woman, who lead the world forward with their work. However now, in this system without ethics, there is an idol at the center and the world has become idolatrous of this god-money.” Pennies command! Money commands! All these things command that serve it, this idol. And what happens? To defend this idol they all crowd at the center and the last fall, the elderly fall because in this world there isn’t a place for them! Some speak about this habit of “hidden euthanasia,” of not taking care of them, of not taking them into account … “Yes, we let them lose …” And young people fall who don’t find work and their dignity. But think of it, a world where young people – two generations of young people – don’t have work. Such as world has no future. Why? Because they don’t have dignity! It’s difficult to have dignity without working. This is your suffering here. This is the prayer you cried out from over there: “Work,” “Work,” “Work.” It’s a necessary prayer. Work means dignity; work means bringing the bread home; work means to love! To defend this idolatrous economic system, the “throw away culture” is installed: grandparents are discarded and young people are discarded. And we must say “no” to this “throw away culture.” We must say: “We want a just system! A system that makes everyone go forward.” We must say: We don’t want this globalized economic system, which does us so much harm!” Man and woman should be at the center, as God wishes, not money!

On 10/16/13:

However, the waste of food is but one of the fruits of the “throw away culture” which often leads to sacrificing men and women to the idols of profit and consumption; a sad sign of the “globalization of indifference,” which makes us “accustomed” slowly to the suffering of others, as if it were something normal. The challenge of hunger and malnutrition does not just have an economic or scientific dimension, which refers to the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the food chain, but also and above all and ethical and anthropological dimension. To educate in solidarity means , therefore, to educate ourselves in humanity: to build a society that is truly human means to always put the person and his/her dignity at the center, and never sell him/her off cheaply to the logic of profit. The human being and his/her dignity are “pillars on which to build shared rules and structures that, overcoming pragmatism or the mere technical data are capable of eliminating divisions and of more than satisfying the existing differences” (cf. Address to the Participants in the 38th Session of FAO, June 20, 2013).
We are already at the doors of the International Year that, by FAO’s initiative, will be dedicated to the rural family. This offers me the opportunity to propose a third element for reflection: education in solidarity and in a way of life that overcomes the “throw away culture” and really puts every person and his/her dignity at the center, as is characteristic of the family. From it, which is the first educational community, we learn to take care of the other, the good of the other, to love the harmony of sustainable creation. To support and protect the family so that it educates to solidarity and to respect, is a decisive step in moving towards a more equitable and human society.

On 12/7/13:

So, there is an originary dignity of every man and woman that cannot be suppressed, that cannot be touched by any power or ideology. Unfortunately, in our epoch, so rich in many accomplishments and hopes, there is no lack of powers and forces that end up producing a throwaway culture (cultura di scarto); and this threatens to become the dominant mentality. The victims of such a culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings – the unborn, the poorest people, sick elderly people, gravely disabled people... who are in danger of being “thrown out,” expelled from a machine that must be efficient at all costs. This false model of man and society embodies a practical atheism, de facto negating the Word of God that says: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (cf. Genesis 1:26).
Instead, if we let ourselves be interrogated by this Word of God, we let it question our personal and social conscience, if we let it shake up our discussions, our ways of thinking and acting, the criteria, the priorities and choices, then things can change. The force of this Word poses limits on whoever wants to rule by abusing the rights and dignity of others. At the same time, it gives hope and consolation to those who are not able to defend themselves, to those who do not have access to the intellectual and practical means to affirm the value of their suffering, of their rights, of their life.

So this is hardly a new topic for the Holy Father. And, when you look at the general topic of "consumerism" (which Francis appears to refer to as the "throwaway culture"), you see that this is hardly a new topic at all. And is hardly unique to Francis. For example:

John Paul II during his 1998 trip to Croatia:

…4. The climate of freedom and democracy which emerged in Croatia at the start of this decade permits the re-establishment of faculties of theology in Croatian universities. This will greatly contribute to the promotion of dialogue between culture, scholarship and faith. Universities are the privileged place for a dialogue which can work for the good of the new generation, giving young people direction in their moral choices and their active participation in society. May your schools, and above all your universities, be true power-houses of thought, so that they can train men and women to excel in the various fields of learning, but also prepare people deeply aware of the great mission entrusted to them: that of serving the human person.
One result of the dynamic link between faith and reason will surely be the moral and spiritual re-birth of your country, which for many years was subjected to the devastations of atheistic materialism. This new flourishing of values will be the strongest bastion against today’s challenges of consumerism and hedonism. Thus, on a sound basis of values, the human person, the family and society as a whole will be able to develop in accordance with the truth, experiencing joy and hope, with a gaze that is turned to the eternal destiny which God has prepared for every human being. Thus will be avoided in the future the drama of the separation between culture and the Gospel, which has so troubled our age (cf. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 20).
A culture which rejects God cannot be considered fully human, because it excludes from its vision the One who has created man in his own image and likeness, has redeemed him through the work of Christ, and has consecrated him with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This is why the human person, and every aspect of the person, must be the focus of culture in all its forms and the reference-point of every scholarly endeavour…

Or this address to the Mass Media that JPII gave in Los Angeles back in 1987:

…2. Your work can be a force for great good or great evil. You yourselves know the dangers, as well as the splendid opportunities open to you. Communication products can be works of great beauty, revealing what is noble and uplifting in humanity and promoting what is just and fair and true. On the other hand communications can appeal to and promote what is debased in people: dehumanized sex through pornography or through a casual attitude towards sex and human life; greed through materialism and consumerism or irresponsible individualism; anger and vengefulness through violence or self-righteousness. All the media of popular culture which you represent can build or destroy, uplift or cast down. You have untold possibilities for good, ominous possibilities for destruction. It is the difference between death and life – the death or life of the spirit. And it is a matter of choice. The challenge of Moses to the people of Israel is applicable to all of us today: "I set before you life and death... Choose life" (Deut. 30, 19)…

And there are plenty of other citations from JPII's long papacy.

Or then we have the example of Benedict XVI.

For example, his homily delivered for Assumption, 2007:

Here, these two loves appear in two great figures. First of all, there is the immensely strong, red dragon with a striking and disturbing manifestation of power without grace, without love, of absolute selfishness, terror and violence.
At the time when St John wrote the Book of Revelation, this dragon represented for him the power of the anti-Christian Roman Emperors, from Nero to Domitian. This power seemed boundless; the military, political and propagandist power of the Roman Empire was such that before it, faith, the Church, appeared as a defenceless woman with no chance of survival and even less of victory.
Who could stand up to this omnipresent force that seemed capable of achieving everything? Yet, we know that in the end it was the defenceless woman who won and not egoism or hatred; the love of God triumphed and the Roman Empire was opened to the Christian faith.
The words of Sacred Scripture always transcend the period in history. Thus, not only does this dragon suggest the anti-Christian power of the persecutors of the Church of that time, but also anti-Christian dictatorships of all periods.
We see this power, the force of the red dragon, brought into existence once again in the great dictatorships of the last century: the Nazi dictatorship and the dictatorship of Stalin monopolized all the power, penetrated every corner, the very last corner. It seemed impossible in the long term that faith could survive in the face of this dragon that was so powerful, that could not wait to devour God become a Child, as well as the woman, the Church. But also in this case, in the end love was stronger than hate.
Today too, the dragon exists in new and different ways. It exists in the form of materialistic ideologies that tell us it is absurd to think of God; it is absurd to observe God's commandments: they are a leftover from a time past. Life is only worth living for its own sake. Take everything we can get in this brief moment of life. Consumerism, selfishness and entertainment alone are worthwhile. This is life. This is how we must live. And once again, it seems absurd, impossible, to oppose this dominant mindset with all its media and propagandist power. Today too, it seems impossible to imagine a God who created man and made himself a Child and who was to be the true ruler of the world.
Even now, this dragon appears invincible, but it is still true today that God is stronger than the dragon, that it is love which conquers rather than selfishness.

And there are too many quotes in Caritas in Veritate to list (click on the link and search within the document for "consumerist" to see what I'm saying).

So Francis is not saying anything that other popes haven't said over and over again. He may say them in a slightly different way, but it really isn't any "new" content.

A culture which rejects God cannot be considered fully human, because it excludes from its vision the One who has created man in his own image and likeness, has redeemed him through the work of Christ, and has consecrated him with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

This is a profound observation. When we switch it around, it also says something important. E.g., "A culture which is not fully human - because it excludes from its vision man in God's own image and likeness, redeemed through the work of Christ, consecrated with the anointing of the Holy Spirit - is a culture which rejects God."

Even when Pope Francis speaks out against abortion, and he has spoken out against abortion his entire life, that’s not good enough for the Francis bashers. He has to say “murder the abortionist, no let me personally shoot them in the head”. AMEN.

Pope Francis can’t say anything or do anything that will please the haters. They are all smarter than he is and know the Bible a lot better than he does.

Catholic ping!

Yes, "Culture of Death," was very appropriate. Our current Pope states "It’s difficult to have dignity without working," which is true, but more to the core of this issue, it's impossible to have dignity when one aborts and does not repent.

The baby is the first one to fall in an abortion, of course, but along with her goes the mother, and then the father (and virtually all who are involved with abortion). The mother, the emotive caretaker of the world, has now signed on (albeit sometimes seemingly forced) to the murder, death !! — of her own child, while the father, who, more times than not, allows (or encourages) this termination, has thrown away any potential for chivalry (how can a man open a door for a woman when he's closed her door to life), unless, he, too, repents. Is it any wonder why our world is such an evil, convoluted mess?

Abortion is the #1 reason. It will always be the #1 reason — until it is abolished. I pray the Pope addresses the issue of the severely wounded parents of the dead aborted child. They are the [damaged] ones who (in part) carry on the world, and because of their pain, they are doing a dreadful job.

This being said (there's an answer!), please see my tagline. Here is a list of chapels: http://www.acfp2000.com/Chapels/worldmap.htm

And from Fr. Mark Kirby:

[Not every one is able to make the hour of Eucharistic Adoration in the church, particularly at night. Must they be deprived, then, of the honor and privilege of consoling the Divine Prisoner, alone and forsaken in so many tabernacles? By no means! -Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey]...It is helpful to make one’s adoration at home in front of a blessed image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Holy Face. There are many people suffering from chronic illnesses, who are unable to go to a church where the Blessed Sacrament is present. They are not deprived of the graces flowing from Eucharistic adoration, and their prayer, even if it is made from a sickbed or a chair, is all the more precious in the sight of Our Lord, insofar as they unite it with patience to His own sufferings. One might say something like this;

Lord Jesus Christ,
my desire and the intention of my heart
is to pray before Thy holy image as if I were in Thy Eucharistic presence.
Transport my soul before the tabernacle where
Thou art most forsaken at this hour,
and there let me offer Thee my desire to adore Thee,
and my love,
in a spirit of reparation.

Also connected: http://vultus.stblogs.org/index.php/2014/01/the-conundrum-of-the-webcam-in-the-sanctuary/

https://twitter.com/AdorationRocks

I read somewhere else that the Pope said abortion was a “horrific” sin.

Great research and post, thank you.

I've seen video of an actual abortion, I have to agree. Only one other person saw worse than I.

I don’t hate him and calling this a Culture of Death in no way implies that I wish for the murder of abortionists. Repentence? Of course. I am sure when JPII coined the phrase he was not calling for the killing of abortionists! He was telling it like it is. This is a Culture of Death for more reasons than abortion and euthanasia. Drugs, pornography, child abuse, crap on TV and in music, all cause death of the spirit.

THANK YOU!!

why don’t all these Pope bashers just start writing for the Lib Media..which did not have ONE article on the Pope’s comments on abortion. Not one.