Evangelium Vitæ (Latin: "The Gospel of Life") is the name of the encyclical written by Pope John Paul II which expresses the position of the Catholic Church regarding the value and inviolability of human life. It was promulgated on March 25, 1995. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. ... Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005) reigned as pope of the Catholic Church for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death, making his the second-longest pontificate. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Summary of the Encyclical

"Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God."

Beginning with an overview of threats to human life both past and present, the encyclical gives a brief history of the many Biblical prohibitions against killing. The encyclical then addresses specific actions in light of these passages, including abortion (quoting Tertullian, who called abortion "anticipated murder to prevent someone from being born"), and euthanasia (which John Paul II calls "a disturbing perversion of mercy"). The Bible (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Good Book, Word of God, The Word, or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βιβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the classical name for the Hebrew Bible of Judaism or the combination of the Old Testament and New Testament of Christianity (The Bible actually refers to... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... Euthanasia (from Greek: ευθανασία - ευ good, θανατος death) refers to assisted dying. ...

The encyclical then addresses social and ecological factors, stressing the importance of a society which is built around the family rather than a wish to improve efficiency, and emphasizing the duty to care for the poor and the sick. // Ethics Duty is a term loosely applied to any action (or course of action) which is regarded as morally incumbent, apart from personal likes and dislikes or any external compulsion. ...

Authoritative Status of the Teaching

The vast majority of this encyclical contains authoritative, but not infallible, Catholic teaching.

But this encyclical also contains three solemn passages regarding specific moral issues. In Catholic theology, the italicized portions of the following quotations passages are considered infallible teachings. Infallibility of the Church is the belief that the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to err in its belief or teaching under certain circumstances. ...

The first passage, in Evangelium Vitae § 57, concerns murder:

Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. This doctrine, based upon that unwritten law which man, in the light of reason, finds in his own heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15), is reaffirmed by Sacred Scripture, transmitted by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.

The second, in Evangelium Vitae § 62, concerns abortion: This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... Saint Peter, also known as Peter, Simon ben Jonah/BarJonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha—original name Simon or Simeon (Acts 15:14)—was one of the twelve original disciples or apostles of Jesus. ...

Given such unanimity in the doctrinal and disciplinary tradition of the Church, Paul VI was able to declare that this tradition [regarding abortion] is unchanged and unchangeable. Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, in communion with the Bishops -- who on various occasions have condemned abortion and who in the aforementioned consultation, albeit dispersed throughout the world, have shown unanimous agreement concerning this doctrine -- I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. (Evangelium Vitae, § 62)

The third, in Evangelium Vitae § 65, concerns euthanasia: Pope Paul VI (Latin: ), born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (September 26, 1897 – August 6, 1978), reigned as Pope and as sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. ... Euthanasia (from Greek: ευθανασία - ευ good, θανατος death) refers to assisted dying. ...

.... in harmony with the Magisterium of my Predecessors and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. (Evangelium Vitae, § 65)

The vast majority of Catholic theologians agree that these teachings on the immorality of murder, directly-willed abortion, and euthanasia are infallible. These are not examples of papal infallibility, but rather are examples of the infallibility of the ordinary and universal Magisterium -- in other words, the infallibility of the bishops teaching in unison, dispersed throughout the world. In Catholic theology, papal infallibility is the dogma that the Pope, when he solemnly defines a matter of faith or morals ex cathedra (that is, officially and as pastor of the universal Church), is correct, and thus does not have the possibility of error. ... Infallibility of the Church is the belief that the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to err in its belief or teaching under certain circumstances. ...

The following evidence supports this view:

• According to Catholic theology, a teaching of the "ordinary and universal magisterium" is infallible if it is taught by all bishops dispersed throughout the world, as long as they all teach it in a definitive and authoritative manner (Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium § 25). Also considered to pertain to the ordinary and universal magisterium are matters constantly taught by the See of Peter, i.e. doctrines long held by the Church. Before writing Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II surveyed every Catholic bishop in the world asking whether they agreed that murder, directly-willed abortion, and euthanasia were immoral, and they all agreed that they were. To make this connection clear, the pope concluded each of these passages in Evangelium Vitae with a reference to the "ordinary and universal magisterium" and a footnote that cited Lumen Gentium § 25.

• The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that these teachings in Evangelium Vitae are infallible in its "Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the Professio Fidei", published 6/29/1998 and signed by Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Bertone.

• The current Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, William Levada, wrote in 1995 that Evangelium Vitae's teaching regarding abortion was an infallible teaching of the ordinary magisterium.

• Among the Catholic theologians who have written about infallibility, almost every one agrees that these three statements constitute infallible teaching. These theologians include "liberals" (Richard Gaillardetz, Hermann Pottmeyer), "moderates" (Francis A. Sullivan), and "conservatives" (Mark Lowery, Lawrence J. Welch).

On the other hand, radical theologians who disbelieve in the whole concept of infallibility (such as Hans Küng) do not accept that this teaching -- or any other -- is infallible. Yet this cannot be properly termed a "Catholic" viewpoint, because it requires rejecting not only papal infallibility but also the infallibility of church councils, as papal infallibility was solemnly proclaimed by the First Vatican Council. Indeed, Hans Küng has explicitly rejected all four channels of the infallibility of the Church that are held by Catholic theologians. A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. ... Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. ... The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) (Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei) is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. ... Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: ), born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, is the 265th and reigning pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and sovereign of Vatican City State. ... Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone is the Archbishop of Genoa and was considered papabile following the death of Pope John Paul II. His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is Archbishop of Genoa and a Cardinal Priest in the Roman Catholic Church. ... William Joseph Levada William Joseph Levada, (born 15 June 1936, Long Beach, California) is a Roman Catholic bishop, the Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco, currently serving in the Roman Curia as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. ... Francis Aloysius Sullivan, S.J., is a Catholic theologian and a Jesuit priest. ... Hans Küng (born March 19, 1928 in Sursee, Canton of Lucerne), is an eminent Swiss theologian, and a prolific author. ... The First Vatican Council was summoned by Pope Pius IX by the bull Aeterni Patris of June 29, 1868. ... Infallibility of the Church is the belief that the Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to err in its belief or teaching under certain circumstances. ...

See also

• Culture of Life
• Humanae Vitae

The phrase culture of life is used principally in United States politics and Roman Catholic doctrine as shorthand for a concept that human life, at all stages from conception through to natural death, is sacred. ... Humanae Vitae (Latin of human life, but typically translated as On the Regulation of Human Birth) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and promulgated on July 25, 1968. ...

External links

• Complete text from the Vatican