Ensoulment: When does it occur?

DECEMBER 2011 Note: In this report I may occasionally use bold print , CAPITALIZATION, Italics, or word underlining for emphasis. This will be my personal emphasis and not that of the source that I am quoting. Any footnote preceded by a number or letter/number combination in (parenthesis) is my personal library numbering system.

"Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend the truth is to suppress it" - Pope St. Felix III

An acquaintance recently sent me his missive concerning at what point the soul is placed by God into the newly created body. His contention is that this does not occur immediately when the sperm and egg join forming a zygote but occurs at some later time when the zygote implants itself into the womb. This is his argument because he says that most of the zygotes formed do not get implanted into the womb and are spontaneously removed from the body. He feels that if all of these removed zygotes are dying because they do not implant, that God is permitting an uncountable number of abortions to happen and God is not an abortionist! My friend is buying into the delayed ensoulment theory explained below.
"The late Pope John Paul II told a group of pro-life Catholics, 'Every human being, from the moment of his conception until the moment of his natural death, possesses an inviolable right to life and deserves all the respect owed to the human person'."1 "Life: The creation of God that enables one to grow and develop."2 "Ensoulment is the word which describes the point at which the body of the conceptus is said to be informed by a human soul. THE NOTION OF A LIVING BEING HAVING 'NO SOUL' IS A PHILOSOPHICAL OXYMORON, SINCE THE SOUL IS THE PRINCIPAL OF LIFE IN A MATERIAL BEING . There are two basic theories of ensoulment. The first is called the 'immediate animation, immediate ensoulment theory'; the second, the 'immediate animation, delayed ensoulment theory', (also called the 'serial ensoulment theory'). As the names suggest, the former asserts that, at the very moment of animation (when life begins ), the newly conceived human is animated by a rational soul; while the latter holds that the human souls informing of the new body is delayed. This latter theory holds that there is a progression from vegetative to animal to human soul as the principal of animation. Common in the Middle Ages, the theory was based on Aristotelian biology and is untenable considering all that is presently known from the empirical sciences. Many learned Catholic authors of the ages of Faith held this theory and advanced it in their writings because it was the accepted biology of the day."3 "Conceptus: a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus."4 "Human development begins at fertilization when a male gamete or sperm (spermatozoon) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to produce a single cell zygote. Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception ."5 "Although the zygote is not a fully developed human body, that body is really present in the active natural potentiality of the zygote. The full development of the human body is already in dynamic process; therefore, the human soul must be there. The rational soul is present from the instant of conception as the principle which orders the complex immanent functions following syngamy ."6 "Syngamy: Sexual reproduction by union of gametes."7 "Many pro-abortionists (particularly those who belong to 'religious pro-choice' groups) assert that pre-born life does not begin until the baby gets his soul and, in their collective opinion, this 'ensoulment' occurs only at birth. What pro-abortionists are doing with this argument is falling back to yet another trench in the moral warfare over abortion: they cannot deny that pre-born babies are alive and human, so they are deliberately basing their support of abortion on a question that science will never be able to answer . This is a classic use of 'mystagoguery': An attempt to render a question so complicated or indefinable that no one can ever answer it."8
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Saving Those Damned Catholics, ISBN. 978-1-4257-2346-0, (2007), Judie Brown, Xlibris Corp., Bloomington, IN., P. 93 Catholic Dictionary, ISBN. 978-0-87973-390-2, (2002), Fr. Peter M.J. Stavinskas, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, IN., P). 468 3 (811) (Article: Ensoulment Theories and the Abortion Debate, (09/22/2007), Bro. Andries Marie, Prior of St. Benedict an Apostolate of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Richmond, N.H., P. 1 4 Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary, www.meriam-webster.com 5 (812) Article: Catholic Church Clear On When Human Life Begins, (08/31/2008), stated by Lake Charles, LA., bishop Most Rev. Glen John, Provost, D.D., American Press Newspaper, Lake Charles, LA., P. E5 6 (811) Article: Ensoulment Theories and the Abortion Debate, (09/22/2007), Bro. Andre Marie, Prior of St. Benedict an Apostolate of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Richmond, N.H., P. 1 7 Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, (1965), G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, MA., P. 894 8 The Facts of Life, ISBN. 1-55922-043-0, (1997), Brian Clowes, Ph.D., Human Life International, Front Royal, VA., P. 198

"364 The human body shares in the dignity of 'the image of God': IT IS A HUMAN BODY PRECISELY BECAUSE IT IS ANIMATED BY A SPIRITUAL SOUL , and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day. 365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the form of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature. 366 The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not 'produced' by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final resurrection."9 In other words, a human body does not begin without a human soul. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is our doctrine; it is the Pope and his magisterium speaking to and teaching us what we are required to believe. "You see the Pope; and you know that the Pope is the representative, the Vicar of Jesus on earth. Therefore, you will be able to tell your friends that Jesus has spoken to you through the mouth of His Vicar ."10 "The disciples approached Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, 'Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me'."11 "The footnote for this scripture says, 'Become like children: the child is held up as a model for the disciples not because of any supposed innocence of children but because of their complete dependence on, and trust in, their parents. So must the disciples be in respect to God '."12 "Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. This is followed with footnote 18, 15-17: The attitude of the disciple should be marked by the receptivity and trustful dependence characteristic of the child."13 "The soul may be defined as the ultimate internal principle by which we think, feel, and will, and by which our bodies are animated."14 "The rational soul, which is one with the sensitive and vegetative principle, is the form of the body. This was defined as of faith by the Council of Vienne of 1311."15 "Thus the soul may itself be incorporeal and yet require a body as a condition of its existence . In this sense St. Irenaeus attributes a certain 'corporeal character' to the soul; he represents it as possessing the form of its body, as water possesses the form of its containing vessel."16 "The Church teaches that human life is created and begins at the moment of conception. At the moment of conception, when the fathers sperm fertilizes the mothers egg, God infuses an immortal soul into this brand new member of the human race. The embryo may not survive the nine months of pregnancy, but nature not man should decide when life should be terminated. Its human DNA in the baby and distinct from mom or dad, too. That means that only a human being exists in the womb, nothing less."17 "St. Thomas Aquinas defined life as a spontaneous, immanent activity. Once fertilization occurs, the embryo begins to grow. Cells divide, grow, multiply, and follow a predetermined pattern, but the process is also independent to a degree. Although the embryo needs the womb to survive for nourishment and shelter, the process of cell division, growth, and development occur inside from a life force within the embryo itself . Unlike a red or white blood cell that takes orders from the brain to go to one part of the body, the embryo isnt being told what to do by the mothers brain. Its working on its own initiative, plan, and schedule. Mom is merely giving the unborn child the time, place, and support he needs to complete the process begun at conception. If that internal,
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Catechism of the Catholic Church, ISBN. 978-0-86012-327-9, (reprinted 2010), Burns & Oates, New York, N.Y., Paragraphs 364-366, P. 83 The Family Center of Love and Life, ISBN. 0-8198-2608-1, (1981), Address of Pope Paul VI on 09/29/1973, Daughters of St. Paul, Boston, MA., P. 21 11 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., St. Matthew 18:15, P. 41 12 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., footnote 18:3, P. 41 13 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., St. Mark 18:17, P. 130 14 The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. XIV (1912), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Robert Appleton Co., New York, NY., P. 153 15 The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. XIV (1912), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Robert Appleton Co., New York, NY., P. 155 16 The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. XIV (1912), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Robert Appleton Co., New York, NY., P. 155 17 Catholicism for Dummies, ISBN. 0-7645-5391-7, (2003), Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Ph. d., Th. d. and Rev. Fr. Kenneth Brighenti, Ph. d, Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y., P. 225
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spontaneous, automatic, and independent process stops on its own, then the mothers body will eject the dead embryo by itself, which is commonly known as a miscarriage."18 "On 11/18/2011 a questioner asked expert Dr. Richard Geraghty exactly when his soul began to exist. Dr. Geraghty responded that you began to exist at conception . The fertilized eggs were not only a union between the chromosomes of your parents. It was also the union between your body and soul. Your parents did the physical part. God created the soul directly, thus doing the spiritual part. This truth holds even in the case of rape."19 "From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a new life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother, it is rather the life of a new human being."20 From a Catholic High School textbook: "The Church teaches that life begins at conception."21 "If Thomas Aquinas had lived at the time of Da Vinci, if he couldve seen a sonogram of an unborn fetus, or if he merely knew the common DNA science that grade schoolers know today, then he wouldve realized that at conception a human being is created and animation (God infusing the immortal soul) occurs. The embryo may resemble something animal-like, but genetically, the DNA is human from the moment of conception and remains so throughout gestation, birth, and life."22 "Q 10: How shall we know the things which we are to believe? A: We shall know the things which we are to believe from the CATHOLIC CHURCH, THROUGH WHICH GOD SPEAKS TO US."23 "Q 3: What is man? A: Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made to the image and likeness of God."24 "(Priests) Be the first to give, in the exercise of your ministry, the example of loyal internal and external obedience to the teaching authority of the Church. That obedience, as you know well, obliges not only because of the reasons adduced, but rather because of the light of the Holy Spirit , which is given in a particular way to the pastors of the Church in order that they may illustrate the truth ."25 "The Human Soul is defined as the ultimate internal principle which animates our bodies and by which we feel, think and will."26 "Animate: possessing life, full of life, alive."27 Pope Paul VI summarizes the authority of the teaching of Holy Church as he says, "Venerable brothers, most beloved sons, and all men of good will, great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of love to which we call you, upon the foundation of the Churchs teaching, of which the successor of Peter is, together with his brothers in the episcopate, the depository and interpreter ."28 So, once doctrine or dogma is proclaimed we cannot replace these with our own theories; they must be accepted under penalty of sin! "At the First Vatican Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ (Chap. 4), it was solemnly defined that the Pope is infallible when teaching ex cathedra (from the chair of Peter). That is, when he teaches: (1) as supreme pastor and teacher of all Christians, not as a private theologian, (2) in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority as the successor of Peter, (3) by defining doctrinal matters of faith or morals; and (4) by proposing something to be held and believed by the universal Church."29 I remind myself of what St. Paul said to the Corinthians, "I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose."30

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Catholicism for Dummies, ISBN. 0-7645-5391-7, (2003), Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Ph. d., Th. d. and Rev. Fr. Kenneth Brighenti, Ph. d, Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y., P. 226 19 (807) Q&A Beginning of a Soul, 11/18/2011, Dr. Richard Geraghty, Eternal Word Television Network, Irondale, AL., P. 1 20 Death to Life, ISBN. 0-697-17587-1, (1992), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Janie Gustafson, Ph.D., Brown-ROA, Dubuque, IO, P. 192 21 Death to Life, ISBN. 0-697-17587-1, (1992), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Janie Gustafson, Ph.D., Brown-ROA, Dubuque, IO, P. 184 22 Catholicism for Dummies, ISBN. 0-7645-5391-7, (2003), Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Ph. d., Th. d. and Rev. Fr. Kenneth Brighenti, Ph. d, Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y., P. 265 23 Baltimore Catechism No. 2, (reprinted 1977), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Tan Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL., P. 6 24 Baltimore Catechism No. 1, (reprinted 1977), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Tan Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL., P. 5 25 Encyclical Letter of Human Life Humanae Vitae, ISBN. 0-8198-3347-9, (07/26/1968), Pope Paul VI, The Vatican, St. Paul Books & Media, Boston, MA., Paragraph 28, P. 14 26 This Is The Faith, ISBN. 0-89555-642-1, (2002), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Tan Books & Publishers, Inc., Rockford, IL., P. 9 27 Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, (1965), G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, MA., P. 35 28 Encyclical Letter of Human Life Humanae Vitae, ISBN. 0-8198-3347-9, (07/26/1968), Pope Paul VI, The Vatican, St. Paul Books & Media, Boston, MA., Paragraph 31, P. 15 29 The Final Word, (1997), Adam S. Miller, Tower of David Publications, Gaithersburg, MD., P. 28 30 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., 1 Corinthians 1:10

"Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God, and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being."31

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you."32 God could have said 'before I implanted you in the womb I knew you', but he didnt! The inference I draw from this scripture (in the context of the creation of life) is that God knew us as His ensouled person as soon as the sperm and egg formed a zygote in the womb. "But Peter and the apostles said in reply, 'We must obey God rather than men'."33 I was recently reading a new report on the Shroud of Turin and a conclusion mentioned is applicable to this report. The lead researcher on the newest tests on the Shroud is a Paolo Di Lazzaro. He stated, "It is obvious that a scientific work cannot prove any supernatural action ."34 Since ensoulment is a supernatural action, it likewise cannot be proved or disproved scientifically! I believe this is what separates a supernatural act of God from what we can create in a laboratory. "The soul is the life-principle of the human body. Since from the time of conception the childs body is alive (as shown by the fact that it is growing), the childs body must already have its spirit (soul )."35 "Now we allow that life begins with conception because we contend that the soul also begins from conception; life taking its commencement at the same moment and place that the soul does."36 The purpose of this report is primarily to demonstrate that when we study Catholic doctrine or dogma, we are required to accept and obey the teachings of Holy Church in order to stay in communion with the Church. I recall a quote from Pope Benedict XVI when he was still Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, "The truth is not determined by a majority vote." To remain as Catholics in communion and good standing we cannot go out on our own and 'be our own Popes' and pronounce 'doctrine' contrary to Holy Church. The doctrinal teaching of Holy Church, which we are required to accept, is this, "From the moment of conception , the life of every human being is to be respected in an absolute way because man is the only creature on earth that God has 'wished for himself' and the spiritual soul of each man is 'immediately created ' by God; his whole being bears the image of the Creator. Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves 'the creative action of God ' and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end."37 Vatican II was a pastoral teaching council. In it, Holy Church also proclaimed as doctrine, "THOUGH MADE OF BODY AND SOUL, MAN IS ONE."38 Pope Paul VI said, "It can be foreseen that this teaching will perhaps not be easily received by all: Too numerous are those voices amplified by the modern means of propaganda which are contrary to the voice of the Church . To tell the truth, the Church is not surprised to be made, like her divine founder, a 'SIGN OF CONTRADICTION ', yet she does not because of this cease to proclaim with humble firmness the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical . OF SUCH LAWS THE CHURCH WAS NOT THE AUTHOR, NOR CONSEQUENTLY CAN SHE BE THEIR ARBITER; SHE IS ONLY THEIR DEPOSITORY AND THEIR INTERPRETER , without ever being able to declare to be licit that which is not so by reason of its intimate and unchangeable opposition to the good of men."39 Christ made it clear that we are to listen to the teachings of Holy Church and accept them. "Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me

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Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, ISBN. 0-8129-2671-4, (03/25/1995), Pope John Paul II, The Vatican, Random House, Inc., New York, N.Y. Paragraph 53, P. 94 32 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., Jeremiah 1:5, P. 893 33 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., Acts 5:29, P. 187 34 (813) Article: Scientific Tests of Shroud Point to Supernatural, (12/24/2011), Jerome R. Corsi, World Net Daily, Washington, D.C., P. 1 35 (810)Report: Abortion, (copyrighted 1996-2011), Nihil Obstat & imprimatur, Catholic Answers, San Diego, CA., P. 1 36 810) Report: Abortion, (copyrighted 1996-2011), Nihil Obstat & imprimatur, Catholic Answers, San Diego, CA., P. 2 37 Donum Vitae - Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation Replies to Certain Questions of the Day, (02/22/1987), Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Prefect, The Vatican, Paragraph 5, P. 1 38 The Sixteen Documents of Vatican II Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, (1967), Daughters of St. Paul, Boston, MA., Paragraph 14, P. 526 39 Humanae Vitae Of Human Life, ISBN. 0-8198-3347-9, (07/25/1968), Pope Paul VI, The Vatican, Paragraph 18, P. 9

rejects the one who sent me ."40 "Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."41 The Council of Trent lasted from 12/13/1545 through 02/07/1564. One of the great works that they produced was The Catechism of the Council of Trent. Even though they did not have the benefit of todays scientific research to guide them, they declared: "The giving of life is particularly attributed to the Holy Ghost, and this is further confirmed by the testimony of Ezekiel: I will give you spirit (soul) and you shall live ."42

Now, we get back to my friends theory which generated this report that life begins (with the addition of the soul) when the zygote implants itself into the womb, not at conception. To quote a portion of his missive, "Simply look in a standard embryology text. A current embryology text, available in most public libraries, in succinct black and white, says that most fertilized ova (zygotes) are spontaneously aborted in the first twelve weeks." He infers that if these zygotes are with a soul that God Himself would be acting as an abortionist, which he says and we know is not possible! Being an obedient Catholic, my perhaps overly-simplified answer is two-fold: The word of God says, (1) "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord ,"43 and, "For just as a body without a spirit (soul) is dead, so also faith without works is dead."44 (2) The doctrinal (and probably dogmatic) teaching of Holy Church has been that life begins with a soul at conception . We must remember that there are situations that are still within the mystery of faith and are, as of yet, not totally known to us. We may have to wait until we 'pass over' to understand all current mysteries or, perhaps, for those who live into the Era of Peace more will be revealed! I have never asked for feedback on my reports from readers before. However, if anyone reading this report has any feedback - positive or negative - please send it via my e-mail below. Thank you all. This report prepared on December 27, 2011 by Ronald Smith , 11701 Maplewood Road, Chardon, Ohio 440248482, E-mail: hfministry@roadrunner.com>. Readers may copy and distribute this report as desired to anyone as long as the content is not altered and it is copied in its entirety. In this little ministry I do free Catholic and occult related research and answer your questions. Questions are answered in this format with detailed footnotes on all quotes. If you have a question(s), please submit it to this land mail or e-mail address. Answers are usually forthcoming within one week. PLEASE NOTIFY ME OF ANY ERRORS THAT YOU MAY OBSERVE! + Let us recover by penance what we have lost by sin + michaelprabhu@vsnl.net www.ephesians- 511.net

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The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., St. Luke 10:16, P. 118 41 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., Romans 12:2, P. 237 42 The Catechism of the Council of Trent, (1976 & 1982), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Tan Books & Publishers, Inc., Rockford, UL., P. 94 43 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., Isaiah 55:8, P. 881 44 The New American Bible St. Joseph Edition, (1970), Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, N.Y., James 2:26, P. 359