The Meaning of Life

“In our times, humanity does not love human beings and so it says no to itself. To human life.”

I quoted the introduction of my thoughts from Robert Sarah, the cardinal. And not without reason.

Comprehensive measurements concerning the social perception of abortion and the desire for childbearing mostly focus on the relationship between subjective well-being and childbearing, the economic, cultural institutional environment, and the impact of abortion regulations. Measuring and examining happiness, mental well-being, or health, self-esteem poses a serious challenge for statisticians. Nevertheless, studies available globally on this topic can lead to interesting conclusions. The so-called “happiness index” of individual societies shows very large variations, and there is almost no general rule on a global scale. Happiness does not increase directly with well-being or education, for example. However, cultural or religious environment noticeably influences it.

But there is a better, more accurate indicator than any other. The vitality of a community, the faith in the future, is clearly visible in the number of children they have and affects the perception of abortion.

When it comes to this, sad conclusions can be drawn from the European statistics.

According to the latest IPSOS 2023 survey, support for abortion is highest in Europe globally, led by the Scandinavian countries. In the 24 European countries surveyed, 71 percent of adults believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 27 percent believe it should be illegal. The proportions in Hungary do not stand out particularly from the European trend, except in terms of acceptable justifications.

Thanks to increasingly advanced medical diagnostic tools, today, if desired, we can see how a small life develops in four dimensions within the womb. Therefore, our lack of knowledge cannot be of such a magnitude to justify modern societies viewing abortion as the last resort in contraception. When we know that abortion does not prevent conception but ends a life that has already been conceived.

In any case, the psychological state of a society is revealed by how eagerly or joyfully they accept incoming lives. The biggest problem, especially among younger people, is that some kind of hopelessness and fear of the future has permeated this generation. This can be attributed to many known reasons.

Youth are greatly influenced by events happening in the world, epidemics, news of armed conflicts, the seemingly unpredictable future, the rapidly changing environment. Films, advertisements, series, pop culture have a particularly depressing effect on them, portraying their situation as much more frightening and frustrating than it actually is. Various addictions are common in this age group, thanks to digital device use, mediated culture, and relative prosperity. There are many broken families, attachment and emotional injuries. And as a result, depression and various mental problems are becoming more common.

We often complain about the younger generation, that they are not receptive enough, not active enough on the pro-life side.

Based on conversations with young people, it becomes clear to me that the acceptance of the pro-life message and the life-affirming attitude are often not hindered by a lack of information or the often-mentioned individualistic outlook on life or selfishness. They are even more idealistic than that.

This generation does not love itself. They should be in excellent form, full of plans, desires, joy of life, and vitality. But they do not feel loved, do not love life, which leads to them seeing the meaning of life less, the purpose of it, and valuing their own and others’ lives less.

At one point in my lectures, I usually ask the question: Who thinks life has meaning? – The ratios would be surprising. Too many teenagers today see no meaning in their lives, and we could attribute this phenomenon to the extreme emotions characteristic of adolescence, rebelliousness, or introversion.

It is difficult to talk to them about the importance of protecting human lives when they do not consider their own as valuable. This attitude is also present in other age groups and overall results in the self-destructive behavior of European communities.

They see life as bleak, their own future too dark, the world much worse than it actually is. And this disillusionment or hopelessness results in them losing their faith in the future. They have no faith that their future children – if they are born – will have a good life because their own experience does not speak of this kind of life.

This is what reduces their future plans and the number of children they are willing to have. This significantly influences the attitude of the rising generations towards abortion in my opinion. They achieve fewer dreams, undertake less than they could, and this includes children as well.

During major world wars, our grandparents or great-grandparents gave birth to 8-9 children. Their reality was dramatic. Life seemed hopeless. They faced many more challenges. They lived at a lower standard of living than us, yet they believed that their children would have a better life, that it made sense for them to be born into this world. Hope kept them going! Contrary to the often-heard opinion today: “I don’t bring children into this world!”

However, scratching the surface, deep down buried somewhere, the grand plans of the rising generation about their lives still lie. As shown by the research of Mária Kopp, Hungarian youngsters are inherently life-affirming; they want to live in marriage, they want to have children. It’s just that due to influences at younger and younger ages, they bury these desires deeper within themselves. They receive little attention, little love, and little encouragement. They live in the online space, without human relationships or hugs.

They are alienated from each other, from themselves, but also from human beings. It is not uncommon for them to worry more about offspring of endangered animal species; the fate of a puppy or kitten touches them before that of a few-week-old human fetus.

But they respond incredibly quickly and surprisingly positively to even the smallest impulses. They are sensitive. If we approach them persistently and with great care, then they open up. They ask many questions that challenge them and await answers, but there is no one to turn to, so they reluctantly type them into the Google search bar.

The pro-life message can be most effectively conveyed, love for life can be passed on to our young people if we love and encourage them, if we give them hope!

We need to talk about happiness. What is the state in which a person is happy.

And is a young person, a couple, or a family without children happier, or would they be happier if they had children? Is a mother happier if she chooses the life of the baby, or is she happier if she aborts this life? And if we consider it from the perspective of happiness, we will see that preserving conceived lives brings happiness to our lives, and children also bring happiness to our lives. Love does not divide with the number of children, it multiplies.

It’s been a year since I gave a pro-life lecture to a hundred students at a Greek Catholic school in Hajdúdorog. Teachers told me that they introduced hugging in the school years earlier. Surprisingly, children – even in higher grades – often ask their teachers for hugs. Since then, I also deliver the pro-life message within the frame of a hug to young people!