A champion is a warrior, someone who stands for justice and often does so against the world. As Christ said, "I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world."
The soldiers in Christ's army stand against all evil, especially as it relates to the vulnerable person who deserves our protection, respect, and admiration. In our world today, we experience deleterious attitudes exhibited toward many, including the child who is born with a challenging condition. Insensitivity breeds ire, and we are called to stand in the gap.
Today I have a special person in mind, and he happens to have been born with Down syndrome. Yet he is the light of his family's lives and the lives of all those he encounters. Iron Will is a champion - a champion for unconditional love toward others, including those who may not treat him kindly.
He and so many like him are not cowed into corners when others consider themselves superior. Rather, he is a beacon - a bright light who reminds us that life is precious and unique because it is a gift from God. And since God has chosen to create each of us in His image and likeness, including those of us with special challenges, it is evident that none among us is lesser in nature; we are all equal in His eyes.
We learn that lesson in the Disney movie The Fantastic 4: First Steps. An article about this film explains that expectant parents Sue and Reed are concerned about their soon-to-be-born child. The article says that their unease reflects
those of modern-day parents who fret that their unborn child might have "special needs" or have Down syndrome - discoveries in utero that often cause parents to abort. Yet there is no such discussion among these "Fantastic" parents. The film constantly affirms and reaffirms that unborn children have their own value and dignity. The baby is never referred to as "it." He is always, "he" and "him."
This life-affirming movie inspires us to hope that as residents of the world grow wiser, they are becoming more welcoming to human beings without using skewed perspectives to judge the worth of another person.
Yet, some pejorative attitudes are viewed as the norm. A story from Wisconsin gives evidence of this. When a Down syndrome patient named Grace Schara was admitted to the hospital, the treatment that she received was substandard, to say the least. Ultimately a do not resuscitate order was put in place and Grace died.
Her parents lost their lawsuit against the hospital but are not deterred. They told a local newspaper, "We are crushed, we are shattered, but we are not defeated, and we will continue on," believing that one day in heaven they will see her again.
We see another example of these pejorative attitudes in the story of Gwyn Andrews, a woman whose parents were told while pregnant with her that doctors discovered a "soft marker" for Down syndrome. She recounts the story her parents told her of the doctors who urged them to abort her, even though there was but a one percent chance that she might have Down syndrome. She later read her mother's words in a journal and said, "Reading her words and realizing that a doctor once considered me worthless over a possible diagnosis was devastating."
Gwyn does not have Down syndrome, but she now travels the country and speaks out in defense of life. Calling such attitudes among medical professionals anti-life, she writes, "That kind of medical bias devalues anyone who doesn't meet arbitrary standards of 'normal.' It sends the message that life is only worth protecting if it's predictable, healthy, or convenient."
These champions of truth may not be nationally known, but Iron Will, the Schara family, and Gwyn inspire us with hope and with the desire to continue focusing attention on the innate dignity of every single human person.
In Familiaris Consortio, Saint John Paul II, a champion in his own right, wrote, "In the family, which is a community of persons, special attention must be devoted to the children by developing a profound esteem for their personal dignity, and a great respect and generous concern for their rights. This is true for every child, but it becomes all the more urgent the smaller the child is and the more it is in need of everything, when [he] is sick, suffering or handicapped."
He knew and lived the teachings of Christ, who said, "You must love your neighbor as yourself."
This teaching has no exceptions, and nor should we as we strive to focus attention and respect on the champions among us. We celebrate their lives!