Death has never been a pretty topic. But to speak of the death penalty has sparked an emotional dark side for many generations. The death penalty in America dates back to the pilgrims who first recorded the execution of Captain George Kendall at Jamestown in 1608. Subsequent times saw individual states employing execution methods such as the firing squad, hanging, the gas chamber, electrocution and lethal injection.
This week Villa Zoomers bravely broached the topic of capital punishment as meted out by our criminal justice system. Not an easy discussion.
Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold a consistent ethic of life, regardless of a person’s innocence or guilt. It teaches us to live as a community of justice and mercy. Capital Punishment, on the other hand, flies directly in the face of this teaching. When serious crime hits close to home, our feelings can be turned inside out and upside down. It is then that an abiding Faith must take center stage to reinforce the belief that we are all one family rooted in a common need for forgiveness and support
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Our discussion took palpable form when Sister Leonissa O’Brien SSJ shared with Zoomers the traumatic murder of her brother twenty-seven years ago. Despite the time lapse, her pain was raw. This made her opposition to the death penalty far more poignant, for it underscored the suffering one grapples with to find forgiveness in the midst of heart-breaking pain. Today Sister is a firm advocate for Restorative Justice. She believes that the harm done by a crime is better repaired when the needs of victims, offenders, and community are attended to.
This week Villa Zoomers left the discussion with a better understanding of how the death penalty disrupts the fabric of our society. It 1) disregards the dignity of the person, 2) disproportionately affects the poor and disadvantaged, 3) offers the false promise of healing to a victim’s family, and 4) sacrifices the common good to feed a sense of vengeance and retribution.
All reasons to heed the gospel call to a compassionate sense of societal justice in our own lives and throughout the world!
