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Pastoral Message of Bishop Jerome Feudjio on the Protection and Importance of the Family in Our DaysDear Brothers and Sisters,
I wish you a Happy Feast Day of the Holy Family - Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This nuclear family is an exemplar for all families. Most importantly, todays feast calls our attention to the fact that babies in the womb are human beings - and should be treated as such - deserving of love and respect.
The Christmas season is a time of joy; Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Our God is great! God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to us (John 3:16). And this Son - Emmanuel, came under the form of a baby - a little vulnerable baby.
At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is proclaimed as joyful news: "I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this "great joy" is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21). (Evangelium Vitae, 1)
There is a lot we can learn from the Christmas season. One being that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in time and place; secondly, we are called to appreciate and respect human life from conception; and lastly, like Mary and Joseph who protected the baby Jesus, we too are given the responsibility to protect the most vulnerable. Therefore, we cannot separate the nature of babies from the meaning of the Christmas season. The two go together and cannot be viewed separately.
As People created in the image and likeness of God - regardless of religion - we should believe in the humanity of all babies, born or unborn. Sadly, in most parts of the United States of America, and in other parts of the world, unborn babies are not protected by the law. Shockingly, these unborn babies are not regarded human. It is an atrocious crime to terminate the lives of these unborn babies.
Protecting the most vulnerable in our society is one of the great privileges and duties of our civic leaders. We are all in need of acceptance, love, and care. As a Christian community, the baby Jesus wants us to receive Him in our hearts, and in like manner many unborn babies cry out for acceptance, love, and care.
Who is most vulnerable than an unborn child? This is the question we should pose to ourselves and come to the realization that the unborn babies in their vulnerability, deserve to be accepted as part and parcel of Society.
Finally, the stigma around pregnancy should be eradicated. Pregnancy is not a disease; it is a gift. Every child is a gift from God. Just as God has given us the Gift of Himself in the incarnation. Therefore, we should strive together for the justice of all mothers and for their babies - born or unborn.
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King said: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."
We are family - God's family. When we stray from being members of God’s family, we need to pray and work for our conversion back to God. May this season be a season of return to the Lord and may we continue to take the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as our Model family.
God bless you!
In Christ,
+ His Excellency Jerome Feudjio
Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Given on the Feast of the Holy Family, Anno Domini 2022, December 30th.
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