Pope Saint John Paul II used a poignant term in reference to the Culture of Death. Within his 1995 papal encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), the late Holy Father called out a “structure of sin” our society has crafted to enable unborn babies to be killed (#59).
The saint writes, “‘[W]e are facing an immense threat to life: not only to the life of individuals, but also to that of civilization itself.’ We are facing what can be called a ‘structure of sin’ which opposes human life not yet born” (#59, emphasis original).
WHAT DOES POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II MEAN BY A ‘STRUCTURE OF SIN?’
The Pope first spoke out against the “structure of sin” in his 1984 apostolic exhortation, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia (On Reconciliation and Penance).
However, he would go on to define it more acutely in his 1987 papal encyclical, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (Social Concerns).
Pope Saint John Paul II explains, “If the present situation can be attributed to difficulties of various kinds, it is not out of place to speak of ‘structures of sin,’ which… are rooted in personal sin and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them, and make them difficult to remove.
“And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people’s behavior. ‘Sin’ and ‘structures of sin’ are categories which are seldom applied to the situation of the contemporary world. However, one cannot easily gain a profound understanding of the reality that confronts us unless we give a name to the root of the evils which afflict us” (36, emphasis added).
HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING TO REVERSE COURSE?
Pope Saint John Paul II wrote those words nearly 30 years ago. Have things gotten any better?
Look around you.
Can we both agree the Culture of Death is alive and well?
Its various components comprise an interwoven web of personal destruction, disease, and demise for its participants.
Its infection has permeated virtually every aspect of our society, leaving everyone damaged in some way.
Pope Saint John Paul II, in Evangelium Vitae, calls out a handful of the components of the Culture of Death, prior to labeling them the “structure of sin.” He particularly focuses on how it became possible for a mother to have her unborn baby killed by an abortion.
“As well as the mother, there are often other people too who decide upon the death of the child in the womb,” the Polish Pontiff points out (#59).
THE ABORTION ENABLERS
Pope Saint John Paul II first identifies the babies’ fathers as often responsible for the death of the unborn.
The Pope draws attention to the role the fathers play as being twofold. For one, they may directly pressure the mother of their unborn baby to abort. But as well, fathers also often lend mothers no support in her pregnancy whatsoever. This can be interpreted by the mother as tantamount to permitting abortion as well.
Pope Saint John Paul the Great writes, “[I]n this way the family is thus mortally wounded and profaned in its nature as a community of love and in its vocation to be the ‘sanctuary of life’” (#59, emphasis original).
There’s the primary example of the “structure of sin” responsible for abortion and all aspects of the Culture of Death: the breakdown in the family.
The Pope then casts a wider net.
“In this sense abortion goes beyond the responsibility of individuals and beyond the harm done to them, and takes on a distinctly social dimension.
“It is a most serious wound inflicted on society and its culture by the very people who ought to be society’s promoters and defenders,” agonizes Pope Saint John Paul II (#59).
He names family members and friends as being responsible for the death of the unborn, at times, as well. Such people often pressure mothers into aborting (#59).
Similarly, the Pope calls out medical professionals for counseling women into having an abortion. He also admonishes those who participate directly in the murder of the unborn (#59).
Pope Saint John Paul II also blames the administrative staff of health care facilities where abortions are performed. He labels lawmakers as responsible, as well, for they permit this holocaust (#59).
THE TENTACLES OF THE CULTURE OF DEATH EXTEND EVEN FURTHER
Pope Saint John Paul II continues his assessment in Evangelium Vitae, showing how wide reaching this Culture of Death pervades.
“A general and no less serious responsibility lies with those who have encouraged the spread of an attitude of sexual permissiveness and a lack of esteem for motherhood…,” the late Vicar of Christ writes (#59).
Not supporting families, especially large ones, particularly financially, within our communities is problematic, he says.
Pope Saint John Paul II points out “the network of complicity” among institutions, foundations and associations that promote abortion on a large scale. Such groups fund campaigns to legalize and to promote death to the unborn. Members of such diabolical groups can be blamed for the death of so many millions of unborn children.
OUR SOCIETY IS FOREVER WOUNDED
“In this sense abortion goes beyond the responsibility of individuals and beyond the harm done to them, and takes on a distinctly social dimension.
“It is a most serious wound inflicted on society and its culture by the very people who ought to be society’s promoters and defenders,” agonizes Pope Saint John Paul II (#59, italics emphasis original).
To blame the politicians for abortion would be too easy. They were voted into office by the public, after all.
The politicians obtained their deadly doctrines from somewhere. The educational system is largely responsible. Educators were once filled with the propaganda of the Culture of Death and then spew it to the youth below them.
The media is complicit too. By and large, they form public opinion by the propaganda they generate.
It is like a perpetuating cycle that must be broken.
To use the term “structure of sin” seems oxymoronic. Sin, by definition, is a disordering of thoughts, words, or actions.
But based on the thoughtful analysis of Pope Saint John Paul II in his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, we can see just how close to organized the Culture of Death has become. It infiltrates every corner of our culture.
God, help us.
YOUR TURN
What are your thoughts on Pope Saint John Paul II’s use of the term “structure of sin” to describe the Culture of Death?
What can we do to turn back the tide?
Please share your thoughts!
