As we get into the election mode, labels start to be passed around. We hear often about candidates who are "pro-life." What does that mean? There are many different interpretations of that term. Our Catholic interpretation of this term, it would seem to me, would be following the "consistent ethic of life" that was so eloquently expressed and defended by the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. The consistent ethic of life states that we believe in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death. To me that is the real meaning of pro-life.
There are all kinds of discussions about whether or not a Catholic can call himself or herself pro-life and still be pro-death penalty. We talk about innocent life and, I guess, the opposite is guilty life. I can't imagine that God is making that kind of distinction. We are all His children and all life is precious -- even the life of someone who does not believe that all life is precious.
The state has the obligation to protect its citizens. It does not have the right to kill them. Pope John Paul II's encyclical "The Gospel of Life" (Evangelium Vitae) states that the instances where the death penalty could be used are "very rare, if not practically non-existent" because of the "steady improvements of our penal system." There is no valid reason in the United States to justify the death penalty.
Revenge is the only reason for retaining the death penalty in the United States, and that is not acceptable for people who believe in a God who is love.
When Pope John Paul II was in St. Louis in 1999 and the state of Missouri was preparing to execute Darrell Mease, the Pope said, "The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil." The people of Missouri did not seem to understand what the Pope meant, so his spokesperson, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, clarified it by saying, "Whenever he (Darrell Mease) is executed, the state must know that what it is doing is morally wrong." Can something that is morally wrong be pro-life?
The Catholic Bishops of Texas wrote in 1992: "Our opposition to capital punishment is based on our strong belief in the inherent sacredness of human life and on our obligation to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ." I believe Jesus was clear about His stance on the death penalty. When the woman caught in adultery was brought forward, leaders of the group said that according to their law she should be stoned to death. Jesus simply replied, "Let the one among you without sin cast the first stone." It seems clear from Jesus that none of us has the right to "cast the first stone."
How can we call ourselves pro-life and support something that the Pope calls "morally wrong" and that Jesus says only a sinless person can take part in? I believe that only those who believe in the consistent ethic of life can truthfully call themselves pro-life. Father George Horan co-directs the Office of Restorative Justice/Detention Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He can be reached a frgehoran@la-archdiocese.org. |