Concerning the murder of cartoonists by Islamic fascists, the Pope didn’t quite say, “they had it coming”, but just about: he obviously thinks a fair share of the blame lies with the cartoonists.
“It’s true, one cannot react violently, but if Dr. (Alberto) Gasbarri, a great friend, says a swear word against my mother, then he is going to get a punch. But it’s normal, it’s normal. One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith.”
The pope said those who “make fun or toy with other people’s religions, these people provoke, and there can happen what would happen to Dr. Gasbarri if he said something against my mother. That is, there is a limit. Every religion has its dignity.”
When it comes to the death penalty, however, being responsible for the consequences of one’s action does not seem to apply. A murderer, no matter how callous and evil never deserves to die:
Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a “penal populism” that promises to solve society’s problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.
[….]
“All Christians and people of good will are thus called today to struggle not only for abolition of the death penalty, whether it be legal or illegal and in all its forms, but also to improve prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons deprived of their liberty. And this, I connect with life imprisonment,” he said. “Life imprisonment is a hidden death penalty.”
The Pope’s view:
Someone who draws a cartoon of Mohammed should not be surprised when he is murdered because, insofar as he was cavalierly offensive, he brought it upon himself. Someone who murders another person should be encouraged to believe he has not brought either the death penalty or even life imprisonment upon himself. The murderer, no matter how foul the murder, has too much human dignity for that.
This is one weird Pope.
A Catholic but not Roman, I find that the current Bishop of Rome is a wonderful, generous example of what it means to ‘think out of the box’. The ‘box’ is of course the institutional church! The ‘my God, is better than yours’ has long worn out the welcome map.
Now THAT is my kind of analysis; thank you! What’s wrong with this pope??
Might I suggest that the current Bishop of Rome’s observation wants us to all dig deep in an effort to come up with better solutions to the ‘prison population’ throughout the world.
As a man of faith, I have to believe in the power of rehabilitation. In the U.S. besides the great American War Machine, building prisons is the single biggest industry. What a sad commentary on so called Western civilization.
I think the Pope is just being a little Latin here. He’s from South America. And he said “get a punch,” not “get beheaded”.
I can’t believe I’m defending the Pope. 😀
I am getting the impression that this Pope is too politically correct. It’s easy to look at the criminal and say “life imprisonment is too harsh” as you can clearly see the individual person that is effected by this. A lot harder to see the next victim of this criminal when he is released back into society. Repeat offenders we have seen far too often. Some people just simply cannot be reformed and for the good of the law abiding public such people must be locked away.
Too anyone who follows the politically correct thinking that this Pope seems to be following when he says that life imprisonment is too harsh I say this. Are you willing to let Paul Bernardo live in your community? How would you have felt if Clifford Olson had moved in next door?
When God made the covenant with Noah ,which we are still under, he said “… And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed,for God made man in his own image.”
We should take heed in this.
Blood thirsty lot………….then and now!
God’s Covenent
The Scripture is clear and I firmly believe there are circumstances where the death penalty is totally appropriate. Currently we are seeing far too many situations where the criminal gets nothing but a slap on the wrist with a wet noodle.
If a life imprisonment is really a life imprisonment in hard labour with no parole, then it is a tougher sentence than death penalty.
My argument against the death penalty is pretty simple. Stephen Truscott; Guy Paul Morin; Leighton Hey; David Milgaard; Susan Nelles……
The OT death penalty was a civil penalty – part of what no longer applies in the new covenant.
I agree with you Kate. One hundred percent. The vagaries within the criminal justice system prohibit my support of ‘the death penalty. Life imprisonment for the most heinous of crimes should however be ‘just that’……………life imprisonment.
I think so too. However, the reality is, people like Paul Bernado will never get out of prison, even under our current laws.