tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29488869.post5607703078456648309..comments2023-09-06T01:36:44.050-07:00Comments on Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing Blog: Viscerally, I support the death penalty. Rationally, I cannot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29488869.post-41810960294360880192008-08-16T04:04:00.000-07:002008-08-16T04:04:00.000-07:00Dear anonymous,yes, the catechismn of the council ...Dear anonymous,<BR/><BR/>yes, the catechismn of the council of Trent was official church teaching. Please not that I wrote "was" = past tense since the so called Tridentinum or Council of Trent took place in the early 16th (!) century!<BR/><BR/>Plus what was ruled back then was actually protecting people. If you see it in it's historical context where everyone (exp. every life peer) was allowed just to have an other person executed without any trail or even based on any law (which means that for example one could get executed just because his superiour life peer didn't like the color of his hair!), this Council actually helped the people by restricting the peers rights to kill to those circumstances where the acused actually commited a crime.<BR/><BR/>BUT we still have to keep in mind that you're talking about a Council which took place 5 centuries (!) ago in a time when nobody could even imagine any law system without the death penalty.<BR/><BR/>It took place just shortly after America got discovered by Columbus, long before the Boston Tea Party - America was still ruled by the Britisch King. It took place in a time when inquisition was still normal, being a bondman was soemthing considered normal, slavery was absolutely accepted, all countries were ruled by kings who had absolute power and who were the ones making the laws...<BR/><BR/>Do you really want to bring these times back by transfering thngs from then to now? If you state that the rules of the council of Trent are still valid then you should also state that America is still supposed to be governed by the British King...<BR/><BR/>Since you're quoting this Council I would guess that you're catholic as well.<BR/><BR/>So let me please tell you some things the catholic church says about the death penalty nowadays:<BR/><BR/>Quotes from John Paul II (AP, 4/19/2004):<BR/><BR/>«I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.>><BR/><BR/>«I hope that there no longer be recourse to capital punishment, given that states today have the means to efficaciously control crime, without definitively taking away an offender's possibility to redeem himself.»<BR/><BR/>«While civil societies have a duty to be just, they also have an obligation to be merciful.»<BR/><BR/>And I want to remind you on the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. The American Bishops started this campain and therefore show how much they oppose the Death Penalty. For more information about this, please look at:<BR/>http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/deathpenalty/holyfather.shtml<BR/><BR/>On this page you'll also find links to the Vatican and to statements how the church sees the Death Penalty nowadays.<BR/><BR/>So here I definitely have to oppose to what you say: The death penalty is NOT any more offical church teaching!<BR/><BR/>Apart from this I also have to agree with Odysee: this article was not about the church or god ruling the United States but about the people ruling it. I am aware that by answering to your statement about church I move away from the actual content of the article and I apologize for this but on the other had - although I'm not catholic - I did not want to let your misleading statement about official church views on the Death Penalty standing here unanswered.Susannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13100101823323804897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29488869.post-72979322775952227322008-08-15T11:20:00.000-07:002008-08-15T11:20:00.000-07:00Your argument depends on the notion that power der...Your argument depends on the notion that power derives from God; the argument here is that the government's power derives from the people. A secular and democratic society, in other words. "God said it's just to kill murderers" is really beside the point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29488869.post-69743609033402172522008-08-14T21:06:00.000-07:002008-08-14T21:06:00.000-07:00The Catechism of the Council of Trent (i.e., offic...The Catechism of the Council of Trent (i.e., official Church teaching) teaches that the just use of the death penalty to punish the guilty and protect the innocent "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."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com