by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ
Today’s Second Reading (1 Cor 10:31-11:1) reminds us that whatever we do, we must “do it for the glory of God.” In his letter to the Corinthians St Paul urges them to take him for their model, as he takes Christ.
As we seek to revitalise our Catholic Culture and Identity, let us, like St Paul, take Christ as our model. In every situation, let us ask ourselves: “What would Jesus do in this situation?” If we are grounded in our faith, this question should call to mind what our Church teaches on the particular issue at hand.
So, let us reflect on the question: “What would Jesus do about hanging?” Last week I was interviewed on a radio station about the Church’s position on the death penalty. In spite of the “licks” that rained down on me from callers who supported the death penalty, I took comfort that night from the words of Archbishop Harris who, during Shepherd’s Corner, addressed this issue. Being the loving Shepherd that he is, he gave an excellent outline of the Church’s teaching on the death penalty.
Inter alia, he reminded us that: “God is the author of life – not us. All life comes from God and must be respected. If we are pro-life, we can’t be pro-life in sections. We are pro-life across the board… violence begets violence…We have to come together and see the best ways that we can find of eliminating the root causes of crime…All of us, you and I, have to commit ourselves to this. If we do not, then the spiral of violence which we are seeing will continue.”
If we believe in the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person from conception until natural death, then we must have a consistent ethic of life. All life matters. Both victims and perpetrators are children of God, made in His image and likeness. We must do more to support victims of crime and ensure that those who commit crime are made to account for their actions. But in doing so, we should reject retribution and vengeance and embrace a restorative justice approach to our criminal justice system, which is compatible with building a culture of life.
As the US Bishops have said: “We believe that that our faith calls us to protect public safety, promote the common good, and restore community. We believe a Catholic ethic of responsibility, rehabilitation and restoration can become the foundation for the necessary reform of our broken criminal justice system.”
While our Church has always held that there are circumstances in which a State can enforce the death penalty in order to legitimately defend itself and its citizens, our 1997 Catechism (2267) states “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 with the dignity of the human person.”
The Catechism draws on Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical: The Gospel of Life, in which the Pope rightly stated that capital punishment can only be defended in cases of absolute necessity – when it is not possible otherwise to defend society. However, he says that such cases are “rare, if not practically non-existent”.
On November 30, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI “made one of his strongest statements in support of the elimination of the death penalty” (Sr Helen Préjean). He said during his weekly audience that he hoped that the deliberations of the Catholic Sant’Egidio Community on the theme: No Justice without Life, “will encourage the political and legislative initiatives being promoted in a growing number of countries to eliminate the death penalty and to continue the substantive progress made in conforming penal law both to the human dignity of prisoners and the effective maintenance of public order.”
What would Jesus do about hanging? He would urge us to build his Kingdom by rejecting the culture of death and use our human ingenuity to develop more effective methods to provide for the safety and well-being of our citizens. We can do nothing without God’s grace (Jn 15:5), so let us pray for the assistance of His grace. The causes of crime are complex and require a multi-faceted approach if we are to create a more peaceful society. Let us improve our criminal justice system, policing in T&T, our archaic prison system etc. Let us address the root causes of crime and violence e.g. poverty and social exclusion, the breakdown of family life, the proliferation of illegal drugs and guns, the prevalence of gang culture, inadequacies in our education system, underemployment/unemployment, corruption.
Finally, let us offer ourselves as good role models and mentors to others – “do it for the glory of God.”
