Father Shenan J. Boquet, director of Human Life International, speaks at the Catholics Reaffirming Life Symposium, Feb. 25, at St. Stephen Diocesan Center. (HCH photo by Darlene Dela Cruz)
International pro-life leader says his message is a positive one, respecting the beauty of human dignity
By Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Building a “culture of life” in the Islands, in which human dignity is respected in all its “beauty” from conception to natural death, begins with a solid understanding of church teachings and a proactive attitude, said the keynote speaker at the diocese’s inaugural Catholics Reaffirming Life Symposium.
Father Shenan J. Boquet, director of Human Life International, shared this message at several inspirational and informative sessions Feb. 25-March 3. He traveled to Hawaii with Brian Clowes, HLI’s director of education and research, for the event organized by the diocesan Respect Life Office.
The Respect Life Office described the symposium as “the first increment of a process that will promote and support a culture of life in our diocese.” Among the topics covered at sessions on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island were St. John Paul II’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” and issues such as abortion, contraception and caring for the vulnerable.
Father Boquet and Clowes first held a daylong event for local clergy and religious Feb. 25 at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe. About 30 priests, deacons, nuns and brothers attended.
As president of Human Life International, Father Boquet is tasked with the organization’s mission to address issues of human dignity through “education, outreach, advocacy and service.” HLI staffers have helped open crisis pregnancy centers, trained couples in natural family planning and taught Catholic pro-life principles around the globe.
“HLI’s work is a total picture,” Father Boquet said at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.
Father Boquet, a Louisiana native ordained for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, said he considers himself a pro-life “missionary.” His trip to Hawaii comes after traveling for Human Life International to about 50 countries, logging nearly 1 million miles.
It was an honor, Father Boquet said, to discuss a “culture of life” in the diocese where St. Damien of Molokai “worked tirelessly” for the cause. The HLI president has a longstanding devotion to the Sacred Hearts priest who served leprosy patients in Kalaupapa more than a century ago.
Father Boquet began the symposium at St. Stephen Diocesan Center with a prayer by Human Life International founder, Benedictine Father Paul Marx. The prayer asked the intercession and protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the organization’s patroness, for those who work to preserve human dignity.
In his keynote talk, Father Boquet underscored the importance of examining St. John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae,” as the basis for all pro-life initiatives.
“If we’re going to be entrusted with the Gospel of Life,” Father Boquet said, “we need to be familiar with church documents, know what they teach and be able to defend (them).”
Catholics, he explained, should not take an “adversarial position” when defending or discussing the church’s position on heated issues. The faithful should instead stand firm in the conviction that “we bring Good News. Christ’s teaching is good news.”
“The church is not ‘against,’” abortion and contraception, he added. The church “is ‘for’ the beauty of life.”
Respect for nature
The priest highlighted the hallmarks of a “culture of life” with quotes from St. John Paul II’s 1993 address at World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado.
“The culture of life means respect for nature and protection of God’s work of creation,” the pontiff said. “In a special way it means respect for human life from the first moment of conception until its natural end. A culture of life means service to the underprivileged, the poor and the oppressed, because justice and freedom are inseparable and exist only if they exist for everyone.”
Father Boquet said local culture “gives us an identity.” Parishes are “influential” in forming the consciences of its congregants, especially how they treat the needy and vulnerable.
“Our deeds, our words, our actions are part of that transformation” to a culture that respects life, he noted. “How are we living signs of the reality of Christ?”
To be an effective missionary for life, a person must develop “intimacy with the Lord” through prayer. Only with an individual’s own internal transformation and deeper understanding of God can he or she inspire conversion in others.
Father Boquet distilled five key words for creating a culture of life from a passage in “Evangelium Vitae.” Clergy, religious and lay people must “develop” a critical sense of discerning needs and values, “mobilize” consciences, form a “united” effort, “activate” a campaign and build a culture “together.”
“We have to respect each other too,” he said. “We must realize that we make a difference. We cannot be lazy. We cannot be complacent.”
“We have to be like St. Damien, who went where nobody wanted to go,” he added. “I cannot do all that. The bishop cannot do all that. That’s why we all collaborate.”
He thanked the clergy and religious at the St. Stephen Diocesan Center event for all their work in standing up for human dignity. The Catholics Reaffirming Life symposium, Father Boquet said, was “a chance to start a conversation” and a way to remember that “we don’t stand alone.”
After the session for clergy and religious on Feb. 25, the two guest speakers from Human Life International met with Oahu’s laity Feb. 27 at Kroc Center in Kapolei. Evening sessions on the neighbor islands were held Feb. 28 at St. Michael Church in Kailua-Kona, Feb. 29 at St. Joseph Church in Hilo, March 1 at St. Theresa Church in Kihei and March 3 at St. Catherine Church in Kapaa.
