| (cont.)
II. Capital Punishment in Light of This Ethic
As
you undoubtedly know, since the time of St. Augustine,
great thinkers in the Roman Catholic tradition—St.
Thomas Aquinas, for example—have struggled with such
ethical questions as the right of the State to execute
criminals. Through the centuries, as I noted above,
the Church has acknowledged that the State does have
the right to take the life of someone guilty of an
extremely serious crime.
However, because such
punishment involves the deliberate infliction of evil
on another, it always needs justification. Usually
this has consisted of indicating some good which would
derive from the punishment, a good of such consequence
that it justifies the taking of life.
As I understand the
current discussion about capital punishment, the question
is not whether the State still has the right to inflict
capital punishment, but whether it should exercise
this right. In present circumstances, are there sufficient
reasons to justify the infliction of the evil of death
on another human person?
This is the question
which the U.S. Catholic Bishops and others have been
addressing recently—the United States Catholic Conference
in 1980, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference Board
of Governors in 1982, the Oklahoma Catholic bishops
in 1983, the Tennessee Bishops exactly one year ago
today, and Florida church leaders last November. Although
there are differences of presentation, basically the
reasoning of these positions follows two lines of
thought.
First, they review four
traditional arguments justifying capital punishment
retribution, deterrence, reform and protection of
the State. Based on their review, the religious leaders
have argued that these reasons no longer apply in
our age.
I don't have time this
afternoon to present the reasoning in regard to all
four areas, but I would like to use the question of
retribution as an example. The 1980 USCC statement
states:
We grant that
the need of retribution does indeed justify punishment.
For the practice of punishment both presupposes
a previous transgression against the law and involves
the involuntary deprivation of certain goods. But
we maintain that this good does not require nor
does it justify the taking of the life of the criminal,
even in cases of murder.... It is morally unsatisfactory
and socially destructive for criminals to go unpunished,
but the limits of punishment must be determined
by moral objectives which go beyond the mere infliction
of injury on the guilty. Thus we would argue it
is as barbarous and inhumane for a criminal who
had tortured or maimed a victim to be tortured or
maimed in return. Such punishment might satisfy
certain vindictive desires that we or the victim
might feel, but the satisfaction of such desires
is not and cannot be an objective of a humane and
Christian approach to punishment.
Basing their judgment
on this and similar lines of reasoning, many religious
leaders conclude that, under our present circumstances,
the death penalty as punishment for reasons of deterrence,
retribution, reform or protection of society cannot
be justified.
Nonetheless, our reflections
on this issue do not stop at this level. As religious
leaders we argue that there are gospel insights which
bespeak the inappropriateness of capital punishment.
First, there is the example of Jesus, offering forgiveness
at the time of his own unfair death (Lk 23:24).
Another challenging
gospel theme is that of "God's boundless love
for every person, regardless of human merit or worthiness.
This love was especially visible in Jesus' ministry
to outcasts, in his acceptance of sinners" (Florida
church leaders). Consistent with this theme and flowing
from it is the biblical imperative of reconciliation.
Wherever there is division between persons, Christ
calls them to forgiveness and reconciliation.
While these themes are
specifically grounded in the New Testament, I do not
believe they are unique to the Christian vision. People
of good will recognize that these values ennoble human
experience and make it more complete. Commitment to
these values changes one's perspective on the strengths
and weaknesses of the human family.
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