Posted on 01/24/2005 12:46:17 PM PST by Conservative Coulter Fan
I did and I wasn't impressed. First, the author attempts to deny the authenticity of the passage, and thereby its authority. Then he dismisses it as being merely an entrapment tale, about how clever Jesus was to foil the Pharisees, and the lengths they went to, to discredit him.
Jesus could have responded in any number of ways to thwart the Pharisees. That he chose the one he did is perfectly consistent with the mission demonstrated throughout the gospels. One commentary I have says this: "The lesson of the story is, of course, not that sin is of no importance, nor that God does not punish sin, but that God extends mercy to the sinner that he may turn from his sin. The picture of the sinner and the Sinless standing face to face exemplifies the call to repentance." The author of your article misses the whole point, but that is understandable given this ludicrous statement:"The result would be that no one could condemn anyone for anything!" as if that would take the joy out of life.
My contention is that in imitation of our Lord we should strive to extend the mercy that is extended to us, and that the most fundamental place to do so is with life itself.
Nice that he addressed Romans 13. He actually touched on a few issues that come to mind when reading that passage. He comes across as quite the statist. He seems gleeful that he was told the encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, is non-binding, but misses the entire point of the death penalty's inclusion in the encyclical. It is disappointing that he degrades the wisdom of the Church in it's quest to facilitate the deepest and most thorough respect for life in the hearts of Her followers.
No death row inmate can possibly escape in Texas, as he is confined to his cell for 23 hours a day.
So, the death penalty is certainly preferable to the risk of escape by men who already have nothing to lose.
I'm very familiar with the "Texas Seven" as they were apprehended about forty miles from here.
I think you are a little too cynical. Cardinal Dulles is a man of true grit. He is the last one that we have to worry about.
I am not interested in the pre-emptive killing of prospective criminals; indeed the very idea disgusts me. I am interested in the death penalty as society's protection from penal systems that unjustly void existing life sentences.
Here is some wisdom from the Church you seem to want to ignore, as do those who espouse other novel teaching on this issue:
"Execution Of Criminals
Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder. The end of the Commandment is the preservation and security of human life. Now the punishments inflicted by the civil authority, which is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by repressing outrage and violence. Hence these words of David: In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord."
That's NOT what I said.
The wisdom of the Church recognizes that Trent shouldn't be applied to this matter at this time. That's the real wisdom of the Church.
Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent.
Sorry, but the civil authority that allows O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake to walk, but incarcerates Martha Stewart and condemns Scott Peterson to death on the most circumstantial of evidence can hardly be described as judicious. The same civil authority that would starve Mrs. Schiavo to death? The generation of Churchmen currently applying their wisdom know full well the horrors the civil authority can inflict on a people and should be lauded for their courage to correct all the novelties that have come after Gen. 4:15.
Catholic Bishops Campaign Against Death Penalty
the same discussion is going on, and I'd like to draw your attention to my post #20, which is pretty much how I would respond to you here.
That is exactly my point. I do not nor did not advocate a preemptive application of capital punishment for a person who has not yet committed a heinous crime.
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