Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, August 31, 2000
Pkitlh All ve!
The Southern Cross, Page 9
Capital punishment in Catholic teaching
By Father Kenneth R. Himes, OFM
Catholic News Service
~w hile in Missouri in January
1999, Pope John Paul II appealed to
Missouri’s governor to commute a
prisoner’s death sentence.
In St. Louis the pope made his posi
tion clear: “The new evangelization
calls for followers of Christ who are
unconditionally pro-life, who will pro
claim, celebrate and serve the Gospel
of life in every situation.
“A sign of hope is the increasing
recognition that the dignity of human
life must never be taken away, even in
the case of someone who has done
great evil. Modern society has the
means of protecting itself without de
finitively denying criminals the
chance to reform.”
The pope renewed his appeal “for
a consensus to end the death pen
alty, which is both cruel and unnec
essary.”
When formulating its teaching on
capital punishment, the church en
dorses two principles: 1) a presump
tion against the taking of life, and 2)
the state’s right to kill when the
community’s well-being is seriously
threatened.
A basic principle of Catholic politi
cal theory holds that the state is
charged with securing public order.
This entails certain duties and re
sponsibilities; capital punishment is
an instance of the state’s duty to de
fend innocent people.
Our moral tradition has acknowl
edged that authorized state agents —
soldiers and police — may kill in wars
which are just and, under limited cir
cumstances, may use lethal force to
secure public safety.
What about executing criminals?
Traditionally, the state’s compe
tence included the right to punish
with necessary means, including ex
ecution. In Catholic teaching, punish-
«rp
he dignity of human life
must never be taken away,
even in the case of someone
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y?
CNS Vatican photo of pope’s 1983 visit to the man who shot him in 1981 from Reuters
who has done great evil.” —
Pope John Paul II
ment should protect society (public
safety and deterrence), reform the
criminal and make retribution. But in
modern societies capital punishment
is unnecessary for society’s protection,
makes reform impossible and is of du
bious value as a deterrent to crime.
And capital punishment serves
only one aspect of punishment, retri-
Visiting my brothers
By Father Herb Weber
Catholic News Service
—A
xjLs I prepared the altar for the
weekend liturgy at a local prison, an
inmate asked whether Jesus had
brothers or sisters. Other inmates
had told him the Bible talks about
Jesus’ brothers.
I looked up and acknowledged the
Bible passages in question, adding that
the word “brother” often refers to more
than a blood relationship. I said also that
in the past, as today, people referred to
others as brothers and sisters even if they
did not have the same parents.
At that point another prisoner, who
was listening, said with a smile:
“That’s true. Father, I think of you as
my brother.”
I was touched. Later that day as I
took the time to reflect more deeply on
the prisoner’s words, I discovered an
other meaning. What I have learned
through my prison ministry is that
those in prison really are the brothers
and sisters of those outside.
The prison I visit — usually on
Saturday mornings for Mass — is
part Ohio’s corrections system. A per
manent deacon from my parish, along
with a few other parishioners, visits
during the week for times of prayer,
discussion and even a Rite of Chris
tian Initiation of Adults program. On
Easter, I baptized one new member
into the church at our prison liturgy.
What is most striking about work
ing with prisoners is how much their
needs are the same as everyone else’s.
The setting is different! It is often very
dehumanizing, especially as inmates
lose privacy and personal identity. In
mates often have to fight to maintain
a sense of personal dignity.
Nonetheless, they are human be
ings searching and longing for some
thing better. As they confront their
mistakes and transgressions, they of
ten admit their former approach to life
has not worked. Scripture passages
about forgiveness and starting again
resonate loudly with them.
At times outsiders are suspicious of
prisoners’ attempts to rehabilitate
themselves. Likewise, there is often a
skepticism about “jailhouse religion”
that believes religious practices are
only superficial.
It is true that some released prison
ers will return to crime. However,
that is really one more way in which
they are like the rest of us. After all,
how many others have resolved not to
repeat their sins only to find them
selves having to confess them again?
Perhaps the best attitude Christians
can have toward prisoners is one that
combines realism with compassion.
The realism means that people who
break laws, cheat or hurt others and
are dangerous need to be punished and
locked up to protect society. The com
passion element, however, refuses to
scapegoat prisoners or demonize them.
I recall a brutal rape-murder of a
child that took place in a community
where I lived. After the trial, the local
newspaper interviewed townspeople
about the convicted man. Most of
those interviewed demanded the worst
of punishments for him. Most de
scribed him as a beast or monster.
Because I knew the man before his
crime, I visited him several times in
the county jail. Without question, his
crime was truly evil. But the man
himself, I can say for certain, was still
a son of God. Precisely in that realiza
tion was I able to see the man’s worth.
Society needed to be protected by
his incarceration, but the man’s per
sonal well-being also mattered.
Crime should not be tolerated.
However, those who commit the
crimes need constantly to be seen as
God’s children along with the rest of
us. As the man at the prison Mass told
me, he is my brother.
(Father Weber is pastor of St.
Peter’s Parish in Mansfield, Ohio.)
V
V
July 9 is the Jubilee Day in Prisons. The pope and bishops
throughout the world will visit prisons then.
The jubilee day is an occasion to reflect on ministry to prison
inmates, conditions that spawn crime, the needs of crime
victims and their families.
Though crime is not tolerated, shouldn’t those who commit
crimes still be seen as God’s children?
All contents copyright ©2000 by CNS
bution. Forms of punishment which
serve more than one objective of pun
ishment are preferable.
In my society, other goods also may
be gained by abolishing capital pun
ishment: a stronger witness to life’s
value, the breaking of the cycle of
violence, reformation of the penal sys
tem, avoidance of deadly errors within
the legal system, and acknowledg
ment of the disadvantages of poverty
and race in death-penalty cases.
For the sake of a specific form of
retribution, capital punishment re
quires us to forego the other objectives
of punishment as well as the goods
attained by abolishing this form of
punishment.
All this has led church leaders to
conclude that the presumption
against taking life ought not be over
ridden. While the church admits the
state’s legitimate right to kill, it
teaches that in our society’s present
circumstances it is unwise and unjus
tified for the state to exercise its right
by putting criminals to death.
(Franciscan Father Himes is a
moral theologian at Washington
Theological Union.)
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
Tell of the ministry in
prisons and jails conducted
in your diocese.
“I work in the Saginaw
County Jail. I do one-to-one
counseling. We offer four
Catholic Church services each
Sunday. We also offer anger- and
stress-management classes,
self-esteem and
healing-the-inner-child work
shops, and spiritual counseling.”
— Sister Mary Ruth Rault, DC,
Diocese of Saginaw, Mich.
“We have three major
prisons in our diocese, and we
carry out ministry at each
location. That ministry —
conducted by local priests or
deacons — includes visitation,
Mass and Scripture study.” —
Father Eric Berns, director of
the Office of Ministries, Diocese
of La Crosse, Wis.
“We have priest-chaplains
that minister to the correctional
facilities in our diocese. They
are sometimes assisted by lay
ministers. Mass is celebrated on
a regular basis, and there is
ministry directly to individuals
as well.” — Kathie Sass,
director of communications,
Diocese of Springfield, Ill.
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