Confirmation sponsor and proof of the right to life

Some parish programs of preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation require the candidate to write a letter to the bishop requesting to be confirmed. That letter usually contains personal information about the candidate such as the activities and studies during the preparation for the Sacrament; the patron saint and the choice of the sponsor. I enjoy reading the letters which provide me with some insight into those to be confirmed.

Recently, a letter requesting Confirmation from a parishioner of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Turnersville, Dominic Grassi, caught my attention. Dom wrote so very lovingly about his sponsor, his 24-year-old cousin, Robert, who has Down Syndrome, a congenital disorder that causes intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities to its victim.

About Robert, Dominic wrote, “Some people may think that means he can’t do or learn things as well as others, but it’s completely the opposite. Robert is one of the strongest and smartest people I know. We are not only cousins, but he is my best friend. He has taught me so much about being a good person and never giving up. Robert has truly made me a better human being. If everyone could see the world through Robert’s eyes, life would be much better.”

A few weeks after the Confirmation I wrote to Dom telling him that his letter so impressed me. It is a powerful testimony from a teenager about the Right to Life for people who have been diagnosed with Down Syndrome or other impediments. I wrote to him, “Your words grabbed my heart.” Hopefully, this young man’s words will also grab your hearts.

We live in an environment characterized by our Holy Father Pope Francis as a “throw away culture.” Human life is not accepted as a gift from God which must be nurtured and protected. Some human lives are considered useless or not productive and they can be gotten rid of — destroyed. In some jurisdictions in our nation abortion is permitted even up to the moment the baby moves down the birth canal.

There are influential medical professionals who advise and pressure parents to abort a child in the mother’s womb who before birth is identified with Down Syndrome or other physical and mental impediments. For them life has no value unless it is perfect. What a tragedy this kind of thinking represents and what horrific consequences result for society and for the human person in the womb.

There are politicians who loudly support and lobby for the rights of a woman over her body. That right permits the destruction of the child who is being formed in her body. This year is the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that guarantees the Constitutional right to abortion which Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has correctly called “tragically flawed.” In the United States the “inalienable right to life” guaranteed by our nation’s Declaration of Independence does not apply to a baby in the womb of the mother. For that baby there is no “inalienable right to life.” How shameful! How very sad!

I suggest that 15-year-old Dom Grassi speak about his cousin and Confirmation sponsor, Robert, to the proponents of abortion. He would tell them about the joy that Robert has brought to Dom’s life and to the Grassi family. I propose that he bring Robert to meet those who are in favor of the destruction in the womb of babies who are diagnosed with impediments. Robert could show that he is as much a full human being as is Dom himself; that he too is made in the likeness and image of God. Dom could tell stories about Robert’s influence on him; the life lessons that he has learned from Robert and the bond that exists between the cousins despite the Down Syndrome. Robert could talk about his life and the love he experiences from family and friends. A love which he joyously returns to them.

The Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade, which legalized abortion on demand in our country does not recognize that in the mother’s womb is a living human being. The sophisticated medical technology available sees and takes photographs of a baby in the womb. A picture is worth a thousand words. Yet, that baby in the womb has no legal rights and can be destroyed.

Spend 10 minutes with Dom Grassi and his Down Syndrome Confirmation sponsor and cousin Robert and you will know how tragic is abortion on demand and how the right to life is God given.

In his recently published book LET US DREAM by Pope Francis, the Holy Father writes, “I cannot stay silent over the 30 to 40 million unborn lives cast aside every year through abortion. It is painful to behold in how many regions that see themselves as developed the practice is often urged because the children to come are disabled or unplanned. Human life is never a burden.”

Ask Dominic Grassi if Robert is a burden. Ask any other family who love and care for their made in the image of God Down Syndrome child.