some catholics called for john kerry to be denied communion because his political stance did not match the official church doctrine on abortion.
are those same people calling for schwartzenegger to recieve a similar ban? last i checked, the catholic church took a very aggressive stance speaking out against the death penalty. (okay, i'm a little fuzzy on whether not the guvuhnator is catholic. i think he is. his wife is.)
6 comments:
Maybe if he has a special election to determine the fate of all death row inmates.
The issue is not wether the GoV is for or against the death penalty, the issue is that as gov he has sworn to uphold the law. IN this case, the law had spoken multiple times (sadly). The issue is not the gov, but the law. I just find it funny that everyone is condemning Arnold as if he killed Tookie. I am against the death penalty, but it seems that some of the blame needs to be spread around. The blame falls on Tookie for being a killer. He broke a law with a punishment of death. The blame falls on voters for having such laws. It falls on the government as a whole. Just some thoughts. Maybe I'm wrong.
obviously this is a complex issue. my point has nothing to do with guilt or innocence of mr. williams. speaking of which, he maintained his innocence. would you apologize, admit to, confess to something you didn't do, even if it could save your life? he said he wouldn't. i don't know if he was innocent or guilty. again, my post had nothing to do with that aspect of the case.
it does have everything to do with religous people, namely catholics, who decried one politition for upholding the law. i am asking if there are similar cries going out by these same people for another politition who is not sticking with catholic dogma.
I agree with Ed and Tom. There are two issues this raises. The first is the law concerning the death penalty. I would like to think that the publicity this raises will lead to new laws, but I don't think that is the case.
the other issue is the hypocracy of the church. And by this I don't mean just the Catholic church. Any church that will crusade for the right to life but tacitly support the death penalty through silence. Put another way, any church that suggests either issue is black and white, that as christians the answer is cut in stone. As we all know the laws cut in stone were part of the old covenant. The new covenant is not a matter of laws, and as such is much harder to follow and requires much more questioning and searching. My feelings about the death penalty are unclear. I support ending the death penalty for many reasons, but I understand the arguements on the other side and I refuse to simplify the issue to a matter of black and white, right and wrong. For the church to do so is irresponsible.
"At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI's top official for justice matters denounced the execution.
"We know the death penalty doesn't resolve anything," said Cardinal Renato Martino. "Even a criminal is worthy of respect because he is a human being. The death penalty is a negation of human dignity.""
--www.comcast.net
""It was Pope Benedict XVI, formerly known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who inserted the Catholic church into the 2004 election by ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters, including candidate John Kerry.""
--www.talkleft.com
The Pope seems to be taking less than a personal stance against this one. Interesting if the Pope believes abortion is murder and wants to deny Kerry the right to communion, yet Kerry has never performed or assisted in an abortion (to my knowledge). Yet there is no attack on the governor who assisted in the wrongful death of Tookie Williams.
Maybe Kerry isn't in the Vatican's pocket. Maybe Arnold is. Who knows.
Ed, I believe AH-Nold is a Catholic. Austrians are in an uproar and Christians in his home town have suggested renaming the sports complex with Arnold's name on it and calling it the Stanley Tookie Williams complex. haha
The Catholic Church has also been pretty quiet over the current administration's war effort as well. While positions were taken by JPII, Joe has been pretty quiet on the church's take on killing in the name of national interest. Maybe he's too busy purging the church of those evil-doing gay priests that, well, maybe I shouldn't touch this one...
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