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Good evening Father,

I’m Ilaria and I’m 20 years old. I grew up in a religious family and I nurtured my relationship with God and with faith, but unfortunately, I feel I am experiencing a time of hardship with regard to religion.

I have always had an inclination to reflect a lot upon everything, and since I started living alone in another city to attend college, getting to know many of my peers and comparing myself with them (who are mostly non-believers or at least not going to church) I have been assailed by doubts about my faith.

In particular, I find it very difficult to fall in line with some of the views taken by the Church and I have a very secular view on certain issues (abortion and sexuality above all) and I feel there is a wide gap between, on the one hand, my desire to keep believing, and on the other, wanting to refrain from practicing a “blind” and unfelt faith just because I am used to carrying out certain actions.

In particular, I find it difficult to think of faith as a set of rules to be blindly followed, and on the other hand, I also don’t like to frame it as a “do ut des” relationship, as it often seems to be experienced by me or by the people around me.

Furthermore, all this thinking makes me feel very guilty because I am not capable of totally entrusting myself to God and being a good Christian. How can I bridge this internal gap, which consumes a lot of my energy and continually makes me feel guilty, without moving away from faith?

Is it possible to strike a sort of “compromise” between having faith and living in a constantly evolving world in which I feel I take an active part?

Thank you and I apologize for the very complex question and to which there is probably no single answer.

Answer from the priest

Dear Ilaria,

1. abortion and sexuality are not matters of faith.

The use of reason is enough to establish that those are wrong things.

2. About abortion: we must start from what it is, before looking at the reasons why it is carried out.

So, what is abortion? It is the killing of an innocent and defenseless human being.

I do not know how the killing of an innocent and defenseless human being can be justified.

It is the worst thing you can imagine.

3. There is no right to kill an innocent and defenseless human being.

This is why there is no right to abortion, no right to kill.

Instead, there is the right to existence on the part of the child who already exists.

4. The State that offers a free procedure to kill an innocent and defenseless human being fails in its primal duty, which is to defend all citizens, especially the weakest and most defenseless.

5. Pay attention to the turn of phrase with which abortion is commonly defined: it is the voluntary interruption of a pregnancy.

But how is this interruption carried out, what does it consist of?

Through the elimination of a human being over whose existence no one has the power to decide.

6. Let us now consider sexuality: why are the sexes structured the way they are? What is their goal?

7. A modicum of observation and reasoning would be enough to understand that certain actions involving sexuality are not in accordance with the ways of nature.

Here too: it is not about faith. The use of reason is enough.

8. The practice of sexuality, regardless of whether it is done in or out of marriage, is by its own nature amenable to procreation.

Well, is it the act of a responsible person to bring a child into the world outside of the natural nest, which is that of the family?

It is equally correct to reason: if I get pregnant, will I have an abortion? Which is to say: if I have an abortion, can I kill?

As you can see, these are elementary things.

But some people have created such confusion and spread such sophisms (wrong reasonings) that people believe it to be right what is intrinsically wrong.

9. If I may give you some advice: strive to keep behaving with integrity.

That is the prior condition to be able to have brightness in one’s thoughts and not be confused.

10. As you can see, I did not resort to faith to tell you those things.

After all, it would not be right to enforce on others what one believes by faith.

Many people over the centuries have come to the conclusions I conveyed to you, regardless of race, culture,and religion.

It is natural law that demands it.

With my best wishes, I bless you and I remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo