A pro-life academic has been disciplined by a Catholic university because he expressed his opposition to abortion.
Stéphane Mercier, a lecturer in philosophy, has been suspended from teaching at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Belgium, after distributing a pro-life paper to students.
Dr Mercier told the Catholic Herald that he had asked students to “reflect on the arguments by themselves. I said repeatedly that no one should feel forced to agree with me.”
He added that he had only been encouraging the students to consider the issues. “I did my job, and I’m now under a disciplinary procedure which really doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Dr Mercier was suspended after a protest from the feminist group Synergie Wallonie. The group drew the university’s attention to the written text accompanying Dr Mercier’s lecture. He says he often distributes a text to help students think about the lecture and review their notes. The paper questions the concept of a “right to choose” an abortion.
Dr Mercier told the Catholic Herald that pro-lifers were contending with dark spiritual forces. “The worldly powers that be, and the spiritual powers of darkness, are at war with everything truly Christian. So we’re fighting for life and for the Lord’s commandments against evil powers.”
But he said, although the situation was “exhausting”, “I’m at peace, because the Lord himself is our strength in the fight. The Holy Virgin crushes the serpent’s head. My fiancée is a strong support.”
He asked for prayers, saying: “I entrust myself to every Catholic’s prayer to stand firm, so that God brings forth supernatural peace to my family and me.”
In the paper that Synergie Wallonie objected to, Dr Mercier argues that the acronym “IVG” (Interruption Volontaire de Grossesse) to describe abortion is comparable to Orwellian “Newspeak”.
He writes: “It is a euphemism that conceals a lie: the truth is that abortion is the murder of a innocent person. And it is a particularly despicable murder, because the innocent in question is defenceless. The murder of an innocent person capable of defending himself is revolting; but to attack someone who does not have the strength or the resources to defend himself is even more dreadful.”
The university decided to investigate. It has not announced its findings, but says on its website that it has begun “disciplinary proceedings”, and has “also decided to suspend the two courses for which Stéphane Mercier is responsible until further notice.”
UCL added that, “in the spirit of the 1990 Act decriminalising abortion”, the university “respects the autonomy of women to make this choice, in the circumstances specified by the legislator”.
Dr Mercier pointed out that Catholic bishops sit on the university’s board. “So how can another delegate from the university say that my pro-life stand is at odds with the values of the university? It doesn’t make any sense.”
He said he had challenged the university authorities on their decision. “I asked what their ‘values’ could be if they don’t include the dignity of human beings, but we’re still waiting for the answer.”
The university did not respond to a request for comment.
Pontiff: those who mourn should look to Jesus
The scars of past trials can be a reminder of strength and courage for future generations, Pope Francis has told survivors of an earthquake.
The Pope said his visit to Carpi and Mirandola nearly five years after a 5.8-strength earthquake was a sign of “closeness and encouragement” as the people there rebuilt their homes and their lives.
“Looking at these scars, you will have the strength to grow and to make your children grow in that dignity, in that strength, in that spirit of hope, in that courage that you had in the moment you received those wounds,” he said.
The Pope celebrated Mass in a town square in Carpi. He noted that even Jesus, who prays and weeps at the tomb of Lazarus, shares in the sufferings of those who mourn when “everything seems finished”.
“This is the heart of God: far from evil, yet close to those who suffer. He doesn’t make evil magically disappear but shares in the suffering, He makes it his own and transforms it.”
However, the Pope said, Jesus did not let himself be led by the sadness of his friend’s death but prayed with confidence to God.
“Thus, in the mystery of suffering – before which thought and progress crash like flies on a window – Jesus offers us the example of how to act,” he said. “He does not escape the suffering that pertains to this life; instead he doesn’t let himself be imprisoned by pessimism.”
The image of Jesus standing in front of the tomb, the Pope said, represents a “great encounter-conflict”. One side represents the despair of human mortality and the other the hope given by Christ who is victorious over death.
Christians, he added, were called to decide in their own lives which side they wanted to be on. “You can be either on the side of the tomb or the side of Jesus,” he said.
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