The AP reports on a story that is just sickening. But this really taps into thinking that is prevalent today.
Just read the lede:
A Texas woman accused of kidnapping a newborn boy after fatally shooting his mother said she is not “some sort of monster” and people should not judge her until they know the facts.
Verna McClain, 30, has been charged with shooting Kala Golden-Schuchardt, 28, in the parking lot of a pediatric clinic in the Houston suburb of Spring and snatching her 3-day-old son on April 17. The baby was later found safe.
You see, to this woman, you’re not allowed to judge her. She’s a good person who maybe did some things that people might not approve of but she’s still a good person. One of the things that happened when we, as a culture, drop kicked “evil” out of our culture lexicon is that we also made “good” relative. Everyone is good because no other options exists.
Wait. There is one evil and that’s those people who insist that there’s evil. I know that makes sense but it’s what they believe. It’s like thinking about time travel. The more you think about it, the less it makes sense.
May 1, 2012 at 4:13 am
Yeah, I could be wrong here, but I think the whole thrust of the "judge not" passages in the Bible that people misquote all the time is "You will be judged by the standards by which you judge other people." I, for one, am fully prepared to live in a world where people who murder mothers and steal their babies are judged harshly.
May 1, 2012 at 8:04 am
I don't know if I can think of a single fact that I could learn that'd make "shot mother, stole baby" okay, so, uh…am I allowed to judge yet?
It's like a Japanese comedy act, like something the stupid guy says before the the angry guy hits him with a paper fan.
May 1, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Just a couple of things to consider. I live in Houston, which is not far from the town this happened. Apparently, this lady had a miscarriage before this and she was afraid to tell her boyfriend. I am not defending her actions, but if this is true, then this lady is really more sick than "bad."
Also, please note that the last I heard, there was a possibility that the prosecution would ask for the death penalty. As a Catholic I am fully Pro-Life, natural conception to natural death and everything in between!! I have a real problem with the frequency with which the state of Texas uses the death penalty, including executing a father a year or two ago who quite probably was innocent. (Thanks to that champion of consertvatives Rick Perry who was more concerned with "justice" than truth.)I am not saying that this woman should not be prosecuted or punished, but I also do not deny her the right to try to save her life in a state that devalues life as much as Texas ( and I say that as a usually very proud Texan.)
May 1, 2012 at 2:27 pm
I have a real problem with the frequency with which the state of Texas uses the death penalty,
In recent years the state of Texas executes, on average, about one person per month. The number of murders in the state far exceed one per month.
I am not saying that this woman should not be prosecuted or punished, but I also do not deny her the right to try to save her life in a state that devalues life as much as Texas
I am opposed to the death penalty, but there is no incongruity with supporting the death penalty and also being anti-abortion and being pro-life in all stages of human development. The Church does not outright condemn the death penalty, and it is not illegitimate for Catholics to support its usage. I would also add that an argument can be made that the use of the death penalty is actually a sign of how highly one values life. Since murder is such an abomination and crime against life, the only just punishment (it can be argued) is having the murderer executed. Again, I personally oppose the death penalty, but don't consider it an abomination.
I would also note this entire paragraph is a non sequiter that has nothing to do with the original post. Of course I'm guilty of following you down the rabbit hole, so my apologies.
May 1, 2012 at 5:32 pm
Not only is it legitimate to support the usage of the death penalty, such an act is object of justice. Let me lay some Angelic Doctor upon the confused:
"The fact that the evil ones, as long as they live, can be corrected from their errors does not prohibit that they may be justly executed, for the danger which threatens from their way of life is greater and more certain than the good which may be expected from their improvement.
They also have at that critical point of death the opportunity to be converted to God through repentance. And if they are so obstinate that even at the point of death their heart does not draw back from malice, it is possible to make a quite probable judgment that they would never come away from evil.”
(Summa contra gentiles, Book III, chapter 146)
Not enough? Now about some St. Augustine:
"The same divine authority that forbids the killing of a human being establishes certain exceptions, as when God authorizes killing by a general law or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for a limited time.
The agent who executes the killing does not commit homicide; he is an instrument as is the sword with which he cuts. Therefore, it is in no way contrary to the commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill' to wage war at God's bidding, or for the representatives of public authority to put criminals to death, according to the law, that is, the will of the most just reason."
(The City of God, Book 1, chapter 21)
I live in Texas as well. Whenever I hear that another rapist or murderer has been executed, I thank God for a moment that I live in a state where there IS such thing as retributive justice, a thing recognized by the Church and enshrined into law for two centuries.
If anyone has brilliant argument that refutes Aquinas and Augustine, I would be most eager to hear it.