Both of these videos are very well presented by the Bishop and the Deacon. HOWEVER....There is something missing in both videos. That is the slaughter of convicted murderers in prison by means of the death penalty. Not only that but in other means as well. You know, I read a LOT f Catholic news and opinion. News sites, editorial sites, blogs, etc. Many of them mention, on a nearly daily basis, the life issues that surround abortion and contraception.
Guess how many denounced the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia(I think; maybe Alabama) or the Navy Seals killing off Osama Bin Laden? Not even the ones who trumpet "pro-life" the loudest and eviscerate those who don't. I mean, I don't recall hearing the Catholic Church denouncing Osama's killing. I haven't seen where ANYBODY from the Catholic Church denouncing Troy Davis's lethal injection.
I hate to say this, but it's true, there are a LOT of Catholics who claim to be "pro-life" but thought it was the best darn thing in the world when the Navy Seals smoked Osama Bin Laden. Yet they claim to be Pro-Life. Pro-Life means this: ALL LIFE. Not just when some life is more important than others. That's why I don't consider myself to be pro-life. Osama had that one coming. But I also think abortion is wrong too. Very wrong. To those Catholics who think the death penalty is OK and the killing of Osama was great BUT still claim to be "pro-life" are hippocrates! Plain and simple. Just sayin....
I've said this 100 times on this blog - there are lots of good things worth fighting for - and the Church believes that even within the battle for pro-life that abortion is more key than the death penalty.
I had a super liberal professor in the seminary (a guy who I respected because he at least admitted his position) he said once that even if the numbers were reversed - i.e if 120,000 were dying a month from executions, and a 5-10 people were executed a month, the Church would still say the primary battle to fight in all of this would be the abortion battle. I agree the response by our country to Bin Laden was a big problem (read my post on the matter) and we do fight against execution in most cases as a Church, but to put them on par with abortion, as the Church teaches, is philosophically flawed.
Ok...First of all, I have barely read anything on your blog, so I have never read "there are lots of good things worth fighting for." But, in all fairness, to be pro-life means really to fight for ALL life. From the moment of conception to natural death IS life. I see your point with the abortion aspect. It is the killing of an innocent baby who never got the chance to live outside the womb. However, the death penalty is the killing of an individual(who COULD be innocent, although such circumstances are quite rare) by either poisoning their body with chemicals that will kill them by way of an injection through an I.V. line, or gassing them with some sort of nasty gas as they sit in a chair and breathe that stuff into their lungs and gasp until they die, sitting them into a chair while tons of electricity flows through their body as they feel the worst pain in their lives for a few seconds(or however long), tying a noose around their neck and allowing them to drop from a platform and feel their neck break when the rope stops(if they are lucky) but of it don't break, they are strangled to death. Personally, to me, they should both be worth fighting for on an equal level. Life is life. Pro-life human beings are NOT to be taking any life in any form whatsoever or being happy happy joy joy when some scum bag dies. An exception would be killing is self defense; for example, a police officer gets a gun pointed at him by a criminal and starts shooting at the officer. Officer returns fire, hitting the criminal and killing them. That is self defense and really left the officer with no choice but to kill the bad guy in order to save his own.
In the cases of the death penalty and abortion, humans decide to play God and take lives. Pro-life means to protect life at ALL stages...from conception to natural death.... You say that the Church fights against executions in most cases--to be pro-life it should be ALL cases.
Like I said, I can't say that I am pro-life. It was a GOOD thing that the Navy Seals smoked him. Good riddance! Now that I think about it, it probably would have been a good thing if he was aborted. Reason being: 1) It would have saved Many people from having their lives cut off prematurely in the 911 attacks. 2) It would have saved Osama a trip to Hell because A) He most definitely was NOT a Christian B) He was utterly evil C) Of all the deaths and sorrow he caused, he racked up more mortal sins than I could ever do in a lifetime and highly highly highly doubt he was greeted with open arms by Jesus and let him into Heaven where there is eternal bliss and happiness after what he pulled.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: If you are gonna shout pro-life, LIVE by it! Defend ALL life, not be choosy. Again, I'm just sayin......
Well I'd have to classify that as a rant. The Church says there is a HIERARCHY of Truth. This makes sense to me. All things that are good need to be defended, but there are some things that need to be defended FIRST. That makes sense to me. I get that if people are setting off nuclear bombs that should be a bigger concern than the fact that the dog pound is putting down abandoned animals - I get the hierarchy of Truth thing, but if you don't then I don't know what to tell you other than keep praying about it.
Well well well, Muammar Gaddafi was just killed over there in Libya. So when is the Catholic Church with its pro-life attitude gonna officially denounce ole Gaddafi's execution? Hello pro-lifer warriors out there!! A life was just lost!
The Church doesn't say that one can NEVER be killed in war. Executions are never a good thing, but I don't know the situation - with the death penalty it always depends on the circumstances. The death penalty is not the same as abortion. An unborn child is guilty of nothing
par. 2267 in the Catechism - "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." (referencing Evangelium Vitae by Blessed Pope John Paul II).
I can't believe the first paragraph of the Catechism states what it says. I agree with what you say about war. A country has the right to defend itself as with somebody(like a police officer) shooting and killing in self defense. Kinda leaves one(or a country) with no other choice ya know. However, what Bl. Pope John Paul II stated about execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent" is interesting. If you stop and think about it, in one of those "very rare" instances where execution is necessary, do you think Bl. Pope John Paul II would have delivered the lethal dose of death to the offender if given the opportunity? Or Pope Benedict? Or would you do it? I'm guessing that none of you would....neither would I for that matter. Reason being--the 6th commandment--thou shalt not kill.
A) It is important to note that it isn't the first paragraph of the Catechism, it is found in the 2,267th paragraph. B) Canon Law has always strictly forbid clerics from any type of bloodshed, although it is allowed by people in certain situations.
Again, I need to no more about how Gadafi was put to death - was he captured then shot? Was he shot while trying to fight off the rebels? I don't know. Either way, it is pretty similar to the Bin Laden thing - no matter what, we certainly can't celebrate his death, but we can say, depending on the circumstances, that it may have been morally permissible. We ought never to rejoice over death.
Well, I guess rebel forces shot ole Gadhaffi in the chest and neck after they captured him. In any event, as I said above about Bin Laden, Gadhaffi most definitely would have benefited if he were to have been aborted.....had his mom known he would grow up to be a monster. Heck, in the Bible, Jesus told his disciples at the last supper(or somewhere near that time) about one of them betraying him and it would have been better had he not been born. But he was born and turned evil and is now with Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Pol Pot, General Mao, etc... all in Hell. But unfortunately, hind sight is always 20/20.
Both of these videos are very well presented by the Bishop and the Deacon. HOWEVER....There is something missing in both videos. That is the slaughter of convicted murderers in prison by means of the death penalty. Not only that but in other means as well. You know, I read a LOT f Catholic news and opinion. News sites, editorial sites, blogs, etc. Many of them mention, on a nearly daily basis, the life issues that surround abortion and contraception.
ReplyDeleteGuess how many denounced the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia(I think; maybe Alabama) or the Navy Seals killing off Osama Bin Laden? Not even the ones who trumpet "pro-life" the loudest and eviscerate those who don't. I mean, I don't recall hearing the Catholic Church denouncing Osama's killing. I haven't seen where ANYBODY from the Catholic Church denouncing Troy Davis's lethal injection.
I hate to say this, but it's true, there are a LOT of Catholics who claim to be "pro-life" but thought it was the best darn thing in the world when the Navy Seals smoked Osama Bin Laden. Yet they claim to be Pro-Life. Pro-Life means this: ALL LIFE. Not just when some life is more important than others. That's why I don't consider myself to be pro-life. Osama had that one coming. But I also think abortion is wrong too. Very wrong. To those Catholics who think the death penalty is OK and the killing of Osama was great BUT still claim to be "pro-life" are hippocrates! Plain and simple. Just sayin....
I've said this 100 times on this blog - there are lots of good things worth fighting for - and the Church believes that even within the battle for pro-life that abortion is more key than the death penalty.
ReplyDeleteI had a super liberal professor in the seminary (a guy who I respected because he at least admitted his position) he said once that even if the numbers were reversed - i.e if 120,000 were dying a month from executions, and a 5-10 people were executed a month, the Church would still say the primary battle to fight in all of this would be the abortion battle. I agree the response by our country to Bin Laden was a big problem (read my post on the matter) and we do fight against execution in most cases as a Church, but to put them on par with abortion, as the Church teaches, is philosophically flawed.
Ok...First of all, I have barely read anything on your blog, so I have never read "there are lots of good things worth fighting for." But, in all fairness, to be pro-life means really to fight for ALL life. From the moment of conception to natural death IS life. I see your point with the abortion aspect. It is the killing of an innocent baby who never got the chance to live outside the womb. However, the death penalty is the killing of an individual(who COULD be innocent, although such circumstances are quite rare) by either poisoning their body with chemicals that will kill them by way of an injection through an I.V. line, or gassing them with some sort of nasty gas as they sit in a chair and breathe that stuff into their lungs and gasp until they die, sitting them into a chair while tons of electricity flows through their body as they feel the worst pain in their lives for a few seconds(or however long), tying a noose around their neck and allowing them to drop from a platform and feel their neck break when the rope stops(if they are lucky) but of it don't break, they are strangled to death. Personally, to me, they should both be worth fighting for on an equal level. Life is life. Pro-life human beings are NOT to be taking any life in any form whatsoever or being happy happy joy joy when some scum bag dies. An exception would be killing is self defense; for example, a police officer gets a gun pointed at him by a criminal and starts shooting at the officer. Officer returns fire, hitting the criminal and killing them. That is self defense and really left the officer with no choice but to kill the bad guy in order to save his own.
ReplyDeleteIn the cases of the death penalty and abortion, humans decide to play God and take lives. Pro-life means to protect life at ALL stages...from conception to natural death.... You say that the Church fights against executions in most cases--to be pro-life it should be ALL cases.
Like I said, I can't say that I am pro-life. It was a GOOD thing that the Navy Seals smoked him. Good riddance! Now that I think about it, it probably would have been a good thing if he was aborted. Reason being: 1) It would have saved Many people from having their lives cut off prematurely in the 911 attacks. 2) It would have saved Osama a trip to Hell because A) He most definitely was NOT a Christian B) He was utterly evil C) Of all the deaths and sorrow he caused, he racked up more mortal sins than I could ever do in a lifetime and highly highly highly doubt he was greeted with open arms by Jesus and let him into Heaven where there is eternal bliss and happiness after what he pulled.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: If you are gonna shout pro-life, LIVE by it! Defend ALL life, not be choosy. Again, I'm just sayin......
Well I'd have to classify that as a rant. The Church says there is a HIERARCHY of Truth. This makes sense to me. All things that are good need to be defended, but there are some things that need to be defended FIRST. That makes sense to me. I get that if people are setting off nuclear bombs that should be a bigger concern than the fact that the dog pound is putting down abandoned animals - I get the hierarchy of Truth thing, but if you don't then I don't know what to tell you other than keep praying about it.
ReplyDeleteWell well well, Muammar Gaddafi was just killed over there in Libya. So when is the Catholic Church with its pro-life attitude gonna officially denounce ole Gaddafi's execution? Hello pro-lifer warriors out there!! A life was just lost!
ReplyDeleteThe Church doesn't say that one can NEVER be killed in war. Executions are never a good thing, but I don't know the situation - with the death penalty it always depends on the circumstances. The death penalty is not the same as abortion. An unborn child is guilty of nothing
ReplyDeleteWhat circumstances regarding the death penalty would the church even allow??? Should be none.
ReplyDeletepar. 2267 in the Catechism - "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
ReplyDeleteIf, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." (referencing Evangelium Vitae by Blessed Pope John Paul II).
I can't believe the first paragraph of the Catechism states what it says. I agree with what you say about war. A country has the right to defend itself as with somebody(like a police officer) shooting and killing in self defense. Kinda leaves one(or a country) with no other choice ya know. However, what Bl. Pope John Paul II stated about execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent" is interesting. If you stop and think about it, in one of those "very rare" instances where execution is necessary, do you think Bl. Pope John Paul II would have delivered the lethal dose of death to the offender if given the opportunity? Or Pope Benedict? Or would you do it? I'm guessing that none of you would....neither would I for that matter. Reason being--the 6th commandment--thou shalt not kill.
ReplyDeleteA) It is important to note that it isn't the first paragraph of the Catechism, it is found in the 2,267th paragraph.
ReplyDeleteB) Canon Law has always strictly forbid clerics from any type of bloodshed, although it is allowed by people in certain situations.
Again, I need to no more about how Gadafi was put to death - was he captured then shot? Was he shot while trying to fight off the rebels? I don't know. Either way, it is pretty similar to the Bin Laden thing - no matter what, we certainly can't celebrate his death, but we can say, depending on the circumstances, that it may have been morally permissible. We ought never to rejoice over death.
Well, I guess rebel forces shot ole Gadhaffi in the chest and neck after they captured him. In any event, as I said above about Bin Laden, Gadhaffi most definitely would have benefited if he were to have been aborted.....had his mom known he would grow up to be a monster. Heck, in the Bible, Jesus told his disciples at the last supper(or somewhere near that time) about one of them betraying him and it would have been better had he not been born. But he was born and turned evil and is now with Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Pol Pot, General Mao, etc... all in Hell. But unfortunately, hind sight is always 20/20.
ReplyDelete