Skip to main content

Capital Punishment, Continued

 The other aspect of all this discussion that gets missed is if I say, “I agree with the Church; the popes are clear in saying something that I should pay attention to, and in fact, that I understand,” I am not saying that I have a fondness for particular defendants, or a particular antipathy toward anyone who prosecuted them, etc. In fact, that’s how principles help us: passions can deceive; faith guided by reason cannot.

I don’t know about you, but I always hated when someone said with abortion, “I’m pro-life, but…” We’ve all known that everything after the “but” would be unreasonable. You can’t decide moral issues on vibes. I’m not saying abortion is equivalent to capital punishment, because it isn’t. I am saying that if I understand capital punishment to be inadmissible, if that’s the ethics of the Church in light of human dignity, I don’t have to go case-by-case. We’re just not gonna do this, we’re not supporting it, and my emotions either way don’t matter.

I know even a lot of Catholics are struggling right now. Better said, some are openly courting dissent. I’m not built like that; my favorite part of being Catholic is simply resting in the truth. Do you have any idea how exhausting it was, being my own pope?

At the risk of boasting, it was inevitable that I would leave partisan politics behind as well. Because the social doctrine of the Church is so vast, the prior wisdom of the philosophical tradition so nearly endless that I couldn’t use it as a cudgel against anyone anyway. Smart people can sniff that out, and my conscience itself is awfully sharp, too.

I’m qualified to tell an average person what the universal Catechism means; I can explain its concepts to most people. I hope a Master in Theological Studies from an orthodox Catholic university says I can do that much. I’m glad I am the John Belushi of theologians, because I like average people, for one. For another, I’m not so smart that I would dare raise a hand against the Lord’s anointed, so to speak. And King Saul was way more in the wrong than Popes Leo or Francis ever have been. Take the lesson.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Don't Need No Magisterium: (Jason's Version) (But Actually, We Do)

Hilarious Com-Box Quote of The Day: "I was caught immediately because it is the Acts of the Apostles, not the Acts of the Holy Spirit Acting Erratically."--Donald Todd, reacting to the inartful opposition of the Holy Spirit and the Magisterium. Mark Galli, an editor at Christianity Today, had suggested that today's "confusion" in evangelicalism replicates a confusion on the day of Pentecost. Mr. Todd commented after this reply , and the original article is here. My thoughts: By what means was this Church-less "consensus" formed? If the Council did not possess the authority to adjudicate such questions, who does? If the Council Fathers did not intend to be the arbiters, why do they say that they do? At the risk of being rude, I would define evangelicalism as, "Whatever I want or need to believe at any particular time." Ecclesial authority to settle a particular question is a step forward, but only as long as, "God alone is Lord of the con...
17 comments
Read more

Who Is Out Here Having Sex And Children With People They Don’t Like?

 And look, I’m not married. I’ve never been married. I have no children. I didn’t choose that; things just worked out that way. If you must know, I haven’t had sexual intercourse either. I probably should say “coitus,” so I am not arguing with some progressive activist about what “sexual intercourse” means. But I figured out from influencer videos or something what a “dead bedroom” was. Unless a couple mutually agrees that they don’t want to have sex/coitus anymore (hopefully to pray and serve) this is usually bad. I’ve known enough couples that it’s probably an indicator of trouble, especially for couples who are still able to have children. Is it really that wild to at least hope that Mr. and Mrs. Vance love each other? That a fourth child yet born at least might indicate that they enjoy each other?  Children are definitely not responsible for their parents’ happiness. That’s absolutely true. But wouldn’t any child hope their parents were happy, when they came into being? As...
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Should Have Said

 I was functionally fired from my teaching job in November, 2024, after an unjust administrative "process" initiated by HR , and triggered by false accusations the content of which I was never told. My "defense" therefore could have no reasonable basis or direction. I won't say the name of the Local Education Agency, but the town where I lived and worked was Cheraw, South Carolina. I think that once I was on administrative leave, they could use nearly any indiscretion of mine as the final straw to remove me. I did connect with students on social media in protest, and I did express hope that I would quickly be returned to the classroom. The principal of the high school where I worked--a true lackey of the bureaucracy, and fully committed to educational ideas, methods, and solutions that don't work--also allowed his personal dislike of me to take the form of a belief that I was a substandard teacher. He gave me an unsatisfactory review on October 12, and we ha...
Post a Comment
Read more