Books

ABORTION AND MARTYRDOM, edited by Aidan Nichols OP

Reviewed by Paul Simmons

Contents - Oct 2015 Pastoral statement: Marriage Reinvented? - Bishop Michael Kennedy Call to action: Call for urgent action on Religious Education Pastoral visit: Pope Francis’ subtle challenge to Barack Obama - AD2000 Report Pastoral visit: Positive outcome of Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba - AD2000 Report APREL: Wake up the world - Religious Life back on the map - Anne Reeves Russia: Church and State in contemporary Russia - Fr Lawrence Cross Hebrew Catholics: “Salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22) - Andrew Sholl The Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries explained - Audrey English Letters: Audrey English responds to Dr Mobbs ... - Audrey English Letters: A further response to Dr Mobbs ... - Anne Lastman Letters: What is eternal life? - Francis Vrijmoed Letters: The rights of children - Robert Bom Books: ABORTION AND MARTYRDOM, edited by Aidan Nichols OP - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: HOW THE REFORMATION HAPPENED, by Hilaire Belloc - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: THROUGH THE YEAR WITH POPE FRANCIS: Daily Reflections, ed. Kevin Cotter - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Reflection: Fruit of the Garden - Anne Lastman

Do aborted babies go to Heaven?

ABORTION AND MARTYRDOM
Edited by Aidan Nichols OP. Gracewing. PB. 164pp. ISBN 0-85244-543-1. Rec. Price $29.95. (Available from Freedom Publishing for $25.00.)

Abortion and Martyrdom is a collection of papers given at a meeting at the Benedictine Abbey at Solesmes, France, to discuss the very important question of the status of babies who have died in abortion.

The Abbey at Solesmes, about 300 km south-west of Paris in Normandy, has had a most interesting history. Founded over 1,000 years ago, this Benedictine Abbey barely survived the violence of the Reformation when French Huguenots attempted to destroy the Abbey and particularly its works of art, in a frenzy of iconoclasm.

The Abbey was attacked during the French Revolution, and the monks were scattered. It survived the Napoleonic Era but was derelict, and faced demolition in the 1830s. However, a new foundation was established there which grew rapidly.

The hostility of the secular anti-clerical government saw the Abbey closed four times in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, but it survived and even prospered.

It is regarded as one of the most important Benedictine Abbeys in France today. Since Vatican II, it has played an important role in maintaining the liturgy and in preserving and popularising Gregorian Chant. From it, 24 congregations of men and 8 of women have been established throughout the world.

Fr Aidan Nichols, who participated in the meeting and has edited the papers into this book, is one of the most prominent Catholic writers in the world today, having written over 20 books, including Catholic Thought Since the Enlightenment.

The subject of this book is most important: what is the status of the innocent unborn victims of abortion?

In light of the Catholic Church’s emphatic and repeated statements on the humanity of the unborn, and the moral evil involved in abortion, the question must be asked as to whether aborted babies are like the Holy Innocents, the children killed by King Herod the Great.

In one of the earliest Gospel accounts, Matthew describes how King Herod attempted to thwart the threat to his throne by the infant Messiah:

“When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

“Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more’.”

The account of the prophet Jeremiah goes on to say: “Thus says the Lord: let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord, and they shall return out of the land of the enemy.”

Reflecting on these words, the Church understood them to mean that these innocent children had been martyred in the place of Jesus, and their souls were in Heaven. A solemnity to mark their deaths has been celebrated since the 5^th century.

The meeting which was the subject of this book heard a number of papers given in response to the question: are aborted babies the martyr companions of the Holy Innocents, and should they be recognised as such by the Church?

In the papers which Fr Nichols has published in this book, there are a number of different views expressed on this question.

The most powerful argument came from the Professor Philippe Jobert from the Solemnes Abbey, who argued that “aborted infants are brought to their deaths by the same ‘rulers of this age’ (1Cor2:8) who crucified Jesus, and constitute, indeed, icons of his crucified Innocence.”

In a very interesting Postscript, Professor Jobert widens the subject from aborted children to the broader subject of babies who die before birth. This is a question to which St John Paul II gave his attention, in addressing women who have had an abortion.

He said, “Do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly.

“If you have not already done so, give yourself over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the sacrament of Reconciliation.

“You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost, and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your little child, who is now living in the Lord.”

These word, emphasise the love and mercy of God, and his desire that all mankind should share with Him the perfect beauty of Heaven. They are a deep consolation to all mothers who have lost children.

The matters discussed in this book deserve to be the subject of further and deeper discussion by all members of the Church – not just priests and theologians.

The Church has already given witness to the sanctity of human life through its principled opposition to abortion. Its position would be strengthened further if the victims of abortion were to be honoured as martyrs in the cause of truth.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 28 No 9 (October 2015), p. 10