A ROYAL BABY—AREN’T THEY ALL?

Congratulations to all royal couples and to their baby princes or princesses of wherever.

I must admit that I watched all the trappings of the birth of Prince George of Cambridge with joyful enthusiasm. It is exciting to witness when a married couple is celebrated by pretty much the entire civilized world for being in love, being married, and having a baby. It’s good news, and it’s been big news since the first day we heard about it—the first day we heard of Kate’s pregnancy. There was scuttlebutt all around, from that first day, concerning the future king or queen of England. Almost immediately, press reports poured forth with the news that Queen Elizabeth herself had changed the laws regarding succession to the Throne, and this child was going to be the first to enjoy those new rights—especially if the child to be born would be female. From the beginning of his life in the womb of his mother, Prince George was acknowledged as a person—acknowledged as the heir to the Throne of England—by the whole world—from the beginning of his life!

Of course, it is not so astonishing in a world where there are no absolutes, no objective truths, no common sense of morality, that a child in the womb of a “royal” would be considered a person, given a title, be celebrated and anticipated well in advance of his or her birth. While a child in the womb of lady whomever may be considered a fetus, a mass of cells, a product of conception, whose growth would be timed and calculated in order that it could be violently wrenched from a very similar womb if somebody—most likely his or her mother— chose to do so. Strangely enough, I don’t think this double standard poses such a conundrum to many other people, but it should.

The world did not view Kate as a woman only, but recognized her as Will’s wife. They were seen as a unit. The baby was their baby—from the start—and the baby of Cambridge had two parents. Kate was not alone, and baby Cambridge’s future existence was not solely a matter of Kate’s freedom to determine. The significance of a husband and wife having a child together is obviously still a cause for wonderment. We believe that this is part of God interacting with men and women. This is how creation is meant to continue—in unique and singular love.

The birth of this royal prince should remind us of more than just the fact that he was born with a heck of a lot more of this world’s goods than any of us could ever dream of having. Every child is a gift and no one of us is an accident. We are each created by God in love. The unique love of a man and a woman made holy and sacred in the sacrament of matrimony allows God’s creativity to be manifested in the way that God intends. Children are not just objects—little vessels of entitlement—tax write-offs—or pieces of property that we can have just because we want to—but rather the supreme gift given by God.

So, congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their son. Congratulations to all mothers and fathers whose children are truly royal heirs, the sons and daughters of God, the King of Kings! We are all part of a royal family.

Come celebrate the royal banquet at Sunday Mass.

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