They are tempted to think that the turning of hearts that is required if respect for life is truly to prevail in our nation must be accomplished by nonpolitical or nonlegislative cultural transformation. The pope is here reminding us that political action and legal reform are crucial elements in the struggle to build a culture of life. Far from being alternatives to the cultural transformation that we must bring about if respect for human life is to be restored in our country, they are an indispensable means of accomplishing this transformation. Reform of the law is, to be sure, not the only means. Nor is it sufficient.
Prayer is indispensable, too.
So is direct assistance to pregnant women in need. So is education. Prophetic Vision I have spoken particularly of the pope's treatment of the evils of abortion and euthanasia. This, I think, is appropriate, in view of the grave threat that these evils pose to so many innocent people in our society. But it is also important to observe that the pope calls attention to other threats to life, other dimensions of the culture of death, other evils that must be overcome in the building of a new culture of life.