Theme 1: Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Middle school students are at an age where they can really begin to understand this. It is a wonderful time to present the correct social teaching and the logic behind it.
The Catholic Church teaches respect for ALL human life. There are many controversial issues surrounding this teaching such as abortion, euthanasia, stem cells, the death penalty, war and terrorism to name a few. Children might be somewhat familiar with these terms but we need to be sure that they have the correct reasoning behind the teaching.
Simply put all of the above issues interfere with the value of life on some level. One of the things that many adults fail to understand is that is truly difficult to find someone who is totally pro-life. Most people are inconsistent. Some people are adamantly anti-abortion, yet they vote for people who support the death penalty. Some people are horrified by euthanasia, yet they support war. Most people in America have no problem accepting these inconsistencies. But to truly follow the Church’s teachings, you have to admit that this is contradictory. We either have to modify our worldview or admit that we aren’t who we say we are.
Children (and adults) might try to argue that the world has gotten too complex for such a simplistic worldview. Advances in medicine and the current global landscape are challenging. Yet the Church’s teaching is really very simple: respect ALL human life: in the womb, in the nursing home and in Iraq. It really is that simple.
I would encourage children to be consistent in carrying out this teaching. I would encourage them not to get so swept up in one aspect that they overlook the others. It is a super large teaching with many hot button issues, but at the core it is just common sense.
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