By Hieromonk Christodoulos the Athonite
A congressman one day called me and asked me to go down to the cell of the Elder [Paisios] for the following reason:
"Please ask the Elder," he told me: "Should I make a request to Congress to lift the law on abortion? What is his opinion? Whatever reply he gives you, please, convey it to me, so I can see what I should do."
I went to the Elder and conveyed the question of the pious congressman. He responded to me:
"I have seen, my father, that certain congressmen, even the majority, seek out a certain issue to request from Congress, not merely out of piety, rather so they may appear to suffer for the sake of what is right. And it is precisely these same people, who a few years ago, when this lawless law passed, did not speak nor resist at all.
I am not at all at peace with the way some face these situations! You see, those who want to pass some wicked law, become organized beforehand and entirely prepare: they write about it, they talk about it on television, etc. Did you not see that woman who gathered others and with placards went out into the street and yelled for this law to pass, and although out of the millions of Greek women only five hundred gathered. The Prime Minister went out onto the balcony and said that 'I am pressured by the women to move forward and set abortion into law.' This is how, therefore, they present the government as being allegedly forced to carry out the law, pressured by the people. In reality however this is a well-staged and organized plan.
Tell the congressman, therefore, to not make a request, because his proposal will be denied, and it would be much preferred to not present it at all rather than have it be denied. Instead, he must proceed as follows:
Let him find out which other congressmen from all the parties, who are conscientious Christians, will agree to work together, because political colors (parties) cannot separate Christians, for if they are truly Christians they will be united in Christ, and they will have Him as the common sign by which they will unite. And since all will agree, then each congressman will go to the prefecture which they belong to and tell their Metropolitan [Bishop] that they aim to make the proposal and they are asking for his help as well. Immediately the bishops must raise awareness, and having gathered as a hierarchical synod, they should write to the newspapers asking for the law to be lifted, which is opposed to Christian law and is also opposed to the Constitution, because our Constitution is vested in the name of the Holy Trinity.
Christian physicians must also together raise awareness and publish in the newspapers that abortion is murder. And they should educate women how science has established that 95% of women who have an abortion are at a higher risk to having cancer in the uterus, the fallopian tubes, the ovaries, the breasts, etc. Because when the woman conceives the body adjusts to be fully readied in preparation to bear the child. For example, the breasts prepare to provide maternal milk, the hormones change, etc. Therefore, when a woman has an abortion, this readiness completely stops in the body, which brings about negative physiological consequences, such as cancer. Physicians should therefore explain in detail what happens and its consequences.
Politicians should also speak and write of the impact this has on the nation and the problem of the birth deficit. Christians have one child by force, while Muslims have ten and we will soon face problems, which will be clearly our fault for our lawlessness and for the fact that we do not obey the commandments of Christ. Others are not to blame; minorities in Greece have begun to create problems from the time Greek women, without war, began killing their children before they were born.
So when all these forces and various authoritative persons work together, then, when the day has been designated for this request to be brought before Congress, the bishops in the churches will call the people to make a protest march to repeal the law.
We, as Christians, do not want to violate the laws of our Christ, but they also must respect the freedom of Christian citizens. From the moment the state makes a law, every Greek citizen is obligated to observe it, otherwise they will be punished by the state; this, however, deprives Christian physicians of their freedom. A Christian physician has the law of God and their conscience, which tells them not to commit murder, but against their will they are pressured to sin or abandon their position, and lose their job.
When a state law is passed, then the consequences fall on every citizen of the state, because God will chastise the entire nation. However, when there is no state law, then the allowed chastisement will be endured only by the person who sins. (Unfortunately they aren't upset to pay twenty thousand drachmas to purchase a lamb for Easter, but for an abortion - the murder of a young child - they don't even want to pay one drachma! This is why these women wanted a law to be passed, so they can have free abortions in public hospitals. But they are ignorant of the existence of divine justice, which for our good will not allow these things to pass without notice, but we are chastised here in order for us to repent and to not find ourselves indebted 'above'.)"
This is what the Elder told me to convey to that congressman, and I in my turn conveyed it back to him.
It should be noted here that the Elder wanted us Christians to organize and not just accept "with hands crossed" whatever anti-Christian morality they force upon us.
From the book Σκεύος Εκλογής (Chosen Vessel), pp. 126-128. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
