Tuesday, January 23, 2007

History of "personhood"

The Catholic blogosphere (and elsewhere too, I'm sure) is abuzz with the March for Life held yesterday on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade (legalization of abortion in the US). (More pictures here)

While most blogs have discussed and debated again what the Church's teachings are on abortion and beginning of life, it is interesting to learn that anti-children attitudes were not just maladies of the current age. Mike Aquilina wrote a short commentary on the infanticide of the past ages: a child during pre-Christian Rome is not a "person" until society accepts him; in this case, until his father accepted his patrimony. In short, recognition of the personhood of a child since its conception (in spite of its parents), was something brought about by Christianity.

He linked to more writings by the Church Fathers here.

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