In 1979 Mother Teresa of Calcutta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “her work for bringing help to suffering humanity”. In her acceptance speech at the Aula of the University of Oslo, Norway, she spoke of the mercy and love of Jesus Christ and then addressed the issue of abortion. In the days before ‘Cancel Culture’ no one walked out in protest or interrupted her speech, though many must have squirmed in their seats.

 

After speaking about her experience of serving the poor, especially those who were dying, she said, “And I feel one thing I want to share with you all, the greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child. For if a mother can murder her own child in her own womb, what is left for you and for me to kill each other?”

With a holy boldness she added, “In the newspapers you read numbers of this one and that one being killed, this being destroyed, but nobody speaks of the millions of little ones who have been conceived to the same life as you and I, to the life of God, and we say nothing, we allow it. To me the nations who have legalized abortion, they are the poorest nations. They are afraid of the little one, they are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die because they don’t want to feed one more child, to educate one more child, the child must die”.

These were truly courageous words. She urged her listeners to resolve to save the child in the womb, saying, “And so today, let us here make a strong resolution, we are going to save every little child, every unborn child, give them a chance to be born. And what we are doing, we are fighting abortion by adoption, and the good God has blessed the work so beautifully that we have saved thousands of children, and thousands of children have found a home where they are loved, they are wanted, they are cared”.

All those years ago a simple, humble nun spoke out in the defence of the child in the womb before a distinguished audience of people of influence. She was not afraid to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15).

Over the years as countries have legislated to allow abortion more and more liberal laws have allowed abortion even up to birth. This has introduced the possibility of infanticide, and children are being left to die in Australia with legal approval.

We have witnessed the acceptance of abortion among the general population so that the conscience of nations has been dulled.

It is now an accepted reality in most countries. The general view is that it is the woman’s right, with no consideration given to the rights of the vulnerable child in the womb.

Over the years voices have been raised in defence of life. It would be true to say that most of those who speak up against the growing spread of abortion are those of Christian faith. Within the Catholic Church, inspired by the witness to life of Pope St John Paul II in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, Gospel of Life (1995), Catholics have faithfully declared themselves pro-life and, over the years, have steadily witnessed to our belief that every human life is sacred.

Many organizations have been established to promote the cause of life. Annual processions for life are a feature in many dioceses across the world. The annual “March for Life” held in Washington each January attracts tens of thousands of participants, though it is ignored by the general media.

Pro-life societies on university campuses witness to the Christian belief that life is a gift from God.

Voices have been raised now for decades. It may seem that the witness to life has achieved little, as, generally, laws have become more and more liberal. However, the voices need to continue to be raised, in love, in humility, in respect. But the voices must not go silent.

One very important aspect to the speaking forth in defence of life is that it is now becoming a cause across all the major Christian churches. It has become an important point of unity and common purpose. This is significant as a united voice reflecting the views of the major churches, especially in Western countries with a strong Christian heritage, gives further credence to the importance of the issue.

The more Christians unite together and want to work together in the cause of life, the more effective will be the witness to the society around them.

The voices are raised in harmony and common purpose.

While we have witnessed the increasing liberalisation of laws concerning abortion and there have been efforts to impose these laws on Christian hospitals and penalise doctors who conscientiously object to abortion, there are also signs that more and more people are beginning to sense that things have gone too far. As more and more people are becoming disquieted about the ready availability of abortion, there is a chance to influence politicians, and slowly amend the laws.

There is a long way to go, but, if the voices continue to be raised, changes can occur.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (St Teresa of Kolkata) had the boldness of a saint when she spoke at her Noble Prize presentation. She is an inspiration for us all. Her voice raised in defence of the child in the womb encourages us to raise our voices as well.