Burn of the Day
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
Recall that in 2015 Jorge the Heretic gave a speech to the US Congress in which he condemned the death penalty and said NOTHING about abortion, and the Democrats one and all rose in standing ovation. I knew at that point that we had an utterly destable and contemptible man occupying the Seat of St. Peter.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/transcript-pope-franciss-speech-to-congress/2015/09/24/6d7d7ac8-62bf-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html
“This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”
I must have missed it but is Pope Francis against the death penalty?
He needs to ask Aquinas about that one, where Aquinas argued that certain criminals pose a grave threat to society, and for the good and protection of the whole, if they cannot be rehabilitated they must be executed. Those criminals who chose to indulge in anger or lust, consequently took another persons freedom. These people who have no remorse deserve the death penalty for the sake of justice and for the protection of others.
St. Paul said “Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:3-5). Government has a responsibility to its citizens under God, to protect its people from evil actions and bring about justice for injustice. Otherwise anything goes. Countries with the death penalty have lower crime rates.
And the there’s the good thief on the cross who asks Jesus to remember him. Christ does not condemn his executor but rather tells the good thief he will be with Him in paradise. This shows that faced with the death penalty a condemned person will either repent or not. There is no other time a person will see themselves as God sees them then when a person is faced with the reality of death.
The death penalty should not be used lightly or wherever, but it must be used where appropriate.
Ezabelle said: “I must have missed it but is Pope Francis against the death penalty?”
He actually changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church to reflect his unorthodox opinion on the matter.
Thanks CAG. Wow – so there we go. The Bible says otherwise- but there we go.
Pope Francis has made statements critical of life sentences as well.
Germain Grisez, theologian? said that the condemned first degree homicidal murderer had human dignity and could not be executed. Grisez did not mention the human dignity of the innocent murder victim, or the human dignity of the people in double jeopardy of life because of the homicidal murderer. The first jeopardy of life came with the first murderand now with the murderer still alive.
The murderer as a citizen of the state brings himself to Justice and is executed through his own power of attorney. This is the murderer’s human dignity.
Do to the murderer what he did, exactly what he did to his victim.God will send the worms to eat the murderer alive as God did to Herod.
Jeffrey Dahmer, the murderer, cannibal converted to the Catholic Faith and repented before the worms got him.
Murderers, contract killers, sex fiends, child abusers: God’s worms are coming to eat you alive. Take note. Add blasphemers.
“The Bible says otherwise- but there we go.”
Ezabelle: We are not going anywhere except with Jesus, Who said that anyone who scandalizes one of these little ones ought to put a millstone about his neck and drown himself in the sea.
I had two millstones in the basement. I offered the stones to Roger Mahoney….
The worst reason for changing the Church’s teaching on the death penalty has to be this:
Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.
I still cannot get my head around what that is supposed to mean in the real world. To me, that’s like saying now that we have self-sufficient moon colonies, we can abolish the death penalty.
Also, factually it isn’t true. Murders go on in prison all the time. A life sentence sometimes does not mean life, with murderers occasionally murdering again once they are released. You are correct Dave that making morality dependent upon developments in penology is bizarre.
Progress, baby!
Cuz we’re just so much smarter than ever before.
“New and Improved” is the evergreen slogan of the modernist.
“The worst reason for changing the Church’s teaching on the death penalty has to be this:
Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”
The condemned sits for 30 years in solitary confinement as does Jesse Timmendaquas for killing Megan Kanka and relives his sin and crime as getting away with murder. Reliving the crime is a crime in itself. Enabling the murderer to enjoy his crime is a crime.
“Murders go on in prison all the time”
With covid 19 all the prisons were emptied.
“With covid 19 all the prisons were emptied.“
Now Mary … they had to make room for disobedient business owners and the maskless!
The worst part of what Dave G. quotes is the idea that the death penalty definitively deprives the condemned of the possibility of redemption. Or to be more precise, the idea that this makes it distinct from a life sentence.
The fact is that we all are condemned to die, it’s just a question of when. Even if you give a murderer a life sentence he is going to die eventually, and it may be quite sudden (either from disease or prison violence.) At that point he is no longer able to repent, the same as if he was executed. The only difference is the time. But the difference in the time provided is meaningless when compared to eternity. There is an advantage of being executed in that the time of death is known, and thus can be prepared for, while in a life sentence the criminal can always say “I can repent tomorrow.”
“With covid 19 all the prisons were emptied.“
Now Mary … they had to make room for disobedient business owners and the maskless!”
Now CAG,
They sentenced priests to 17 years in prison for praying the Rosary outside of abortion clinics on the sidewalk owned by each and every citizen in joint and common tenancy, The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Thanks for responding to my comment.
Mary
“The worst part of what Dave G. quotes is the idea that the death penalty definitively deprives the condemned of the possibility of redemption. Or to be more precise, the idea that this makes it distinct from a life sentence.”
The murderer deprived his victim time to make his peace with God.