USCCB Official Expresses Gratitude to Sen. Brownback for Hearings on Capital Punishment
From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Media Relations:
WASHINGTON (March 7, 2006) — In a letter to Senator Sam Brownback, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio expressed gratitude for the recent hearing on the death penalty and urged that additional hearings be convened in the near future.My Comments:
Bishop DiMarzio is Chairman, Domestic Policy Committee, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The Senate Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, chaired by Senator Brownback, recently held a hearing called An Examination of the Death Penalty in the United States.
In his opening remarks at the hearing, Senator Brownback said: “If use of the death penalty is contrary to promoting a culture of life, we need to have a national dialogue and hear both sides of the issue. All life is sacred and our use of the death penalty in the American justice system must recognize this truth.”
“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agrees with you in this important standard,” Bishop DiMarzio wrote. “As you know, the bishops of the United States oppose the use of the death penalty precisely because we believe that all life is sacred and because we believe that the use of state sanctioned executions is contrary to the culture of life that our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, called us all to bring about.”
“As Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, you have begun an important dialogue on the sanctity of human life and the integrity of our criminal justice system that must continue, especially in light of the signs that many are reconsidering these issues,” Bishop DiMarzio wrote.
“Our Bishops’ Conference fully believes that those who commit terrible violent crimes must be incarcerated, both as just punishment and to protect society,” the Bishop said. “We stand in solidarity with victims and their loved ones. However, when it comes to matters of life and death, morality and common sense call for careful safeguards in applying an irreversible punishment and a full public debate on whether or not we should continue to use the death penalty in our country.”
Thanking Senator Brownback for his leadership, Bishop DiMarzio urged additional hearings on the death penalty in the near future. “We look forward to working with you on this issue of life and death and would welcome an opportunity to participate in this process,” he stated.
Bishop DiMarzio enclosed with the letter a copy of A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death, a statement which the Catholic Bishops adopted overwhelmingly last November.
(emphasis added)
As some of you may know, I've been struggling with the Church's "developing" teaching on capital punishment for some time now. I've asked for prayers that my heart will be conformed to that of the Church.
Yesterday, I read someone's comments about obedience not being about doing that which we would otherwise do, but that obedience requires doing things we don't necessarily want to do. Like Christ in the Garden, who wanted the cup to pass from him, but who remained obedient to the Father's Will even unto death on a cross.
On the basis of that sound argument, and the Lord's example of obedience, I have changed my official position on the death penalty, in conformity to what the Church teaches, to "against". My heart still isn't there yet, but I figure I'll let the Lord work on that.
Labels: Bishops, Brownback, Capital Punishment
posted by Pro Ecclesia 10:21 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I have done much thought on this issue and accept the Church's current teaching that the death penalty should not be used unless it is necessary to protect society. That said, I still disagree with the USCCB's position that the death penalty should be abolished.
The current Church teaching requires the state to have recourse to the death penalty in order for the state fulfill its duty to protect society. If it is abolished, the state will not be able to fulfill this duty because it will not have recourse to the death penalty even in those cases where it is necessary to protect society.
There is still a lacuna in Evangelium Vitae and the Catechism where there is acknowledgment that the primary purpose of punishment is retribution, yet, JPII elevates a secondary purpose of punishment (i.e., defense of society) to a primary position in the situation of the imposition of the death penalty. Prof. Ralph McInerny of Notre Dame fame pointed this out.
My question is this. How can we be bound in faith to something that goes clearly against the tradition of the Church on the issue without this point being fleshed out? The question hasn't been answered. If it is an argument for prudence in applying the death penalty, that that exercise of prudential judgment is left properly to the head of state.
The NCCCB has elevated this issue to the point of being a "non-negotiable" like abortion. Contrary to popular belief, there is no definitive "Catholic Position" on the death penalty. Good Catholics can be for it or against it.
mea culpa, USCCB.
"Fans" of the USCCB will appreciate this:
http://respublicaetcetera.blogspot.com/2006/03/almost-makes-me-wish-i-used-outlook.html
I, too, struggle with capital punishment. In America, it's probably not necessary. We have sufficient resources to lock people away forever to protect ourselves. Plus (and I know this hardly is a reason given how long it takes to actually execute someone) taking their life away takes away their chance at redemption sometimes.
I have been against it for years, starting when I was a tender, young liberal (read: middle school). I actually came to the conclusion sola Scriptura before I even knew what that was. But in recent years, I'm less liberal in many areas, and I have a difficult time. What makes it especially hard to remain against it is when people do things like protest that gangsta's execution in California (Tookie Williams?). I want him to repent as much as anyone, but he WASN'T repentant, and the reason given for not wanting to execute him (by many who were highlighted in the media) was that he'd reformed his life.
So I guess we'll pray for each other on this one. It's hard to obey when you can't see why, huh?
I am a victim of a violent murder. My daughter, her husband and his sister were killed by the brother-in-law. My daughter stepped in front of the gun to keep a niece from being shot. My God has given me and my family such peace. He alone can judge Eric, the murderer. He is on death row, which is wrong. He should be incarcerated, but not murdered (no matter what we call it). Please pray for him and my family. America has got to stop taking the lives of others. Life begins at conception and ends with a natural death. We are suppose to be a civilized country. And it is not cheaper to execute him than it is to keep him incarcerated. To take his life may take his desire or chance to as pardon from God. Judge not lest we be judged. It is so easy to forgive thru God's eyes.
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