| July 2, 2007 | Volume 82, Number 18 | |
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Death penalty said justifiedThe June 4 edition of the CV included an item from the Virginia Catholic Conference that noted the pending execution of Christopher Scott Emmett and urged readers to contact the governor to state their opposition to the death penalty. Unfortunately, the bishops’ position ignores the dangers that incarcerated criminals, even those in high security facilities, present to prison staff and other inmates, not to mention the risk of escape and potential to harm innocent citizens. In fairness to your readers, the CV should have included at least a synopsis of Emmett’s criminal history, which includes a conviction for vehicular homicide (Emmett killed a motorcyclist because he was driving while drunk), assault on a juvenile corrections officer, multiple escapes from juvenile correctional custody and numerous instances of breaking and entering, according to the opinion published by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Emmett v Kelly). He was also, at various times, charged with another assault, multiple incidents of driving while intoxicated, trespassing and possessing stolen goods. The case for which Emmett faces execution was a murder committed in the course of a robbery. Emmett struck John Langley in the head with a brass lamp at least six times while he was sleeping, in order to steal $100 to buy crack cocaine in Danville, Virginia, on April 27, 2001. He smoked the crack before calling police to report that Langley had been killed. He made an oral confession to police. Emmett claimed, on appeal, that his defense counsel was inadequate, especially in the sentencing phase of his trial, because he did not establish mitigation related to an abusive and impoverished childhood, but the majority of the Court of Appeals demolished that claim. Christopher Scott Emmett is clearly devoid of any respect for the lives of others, their property or the laws of civil society. In fact, the court noted a complete lack of remorse for the killing of the motorcyclist. In light of these facts, I believe that the imposition of the death penalty would be justified.
(Jeff Caruso, executive director of the Virginia Catholic Conference responds: “The Catholic Church teaches that capital punishment cannot be justified if non-lethal means are adequate to protect society. Applying this teaching to our time and place, the Virginia Catholic bishops are convinced that use of the death penalty is unnecessary and inappropriate in our Commonwealth, given its modern system of incarceration and its provision of a life-without-parole sentencing option. “Based on this judgment, the bishops’ practice, whenever an execution is scheduled in Virginia, is to encourage the Governor to commute the death sentence to life without the possibility of parole.”) The article mentioned in this letter did not appear in the web edition of The Catholic Virginian.
Infertility often caused by maleThe article on infertility in The Catholic Virginian (June 18 issue) seems to imply that infertility is a female phenomenon. I, however, have known more married couples unable to conceive due to a deficiency in the male partner. This is not to suggest a general condition, by any means. However, if as Ms. Mealy states, “one is six couples will face infertility at one point,” it would be interesting to know how many would likely be helped by the new women’s health science.”
Military sacrifice protects freedomAs a combat veteran and the very proud father of a U.S. Marine going to Iraq, your decision to publish the letter deriding our servicemen confuses me. If it were not for the commitment of the U.S military, this country would have been subject to a monarchy, fascist or communist. Like it or not, the United States and its military are the only reason that a great part of this world has any semblance of freedom at all. For the past 100 years, the only reason that this country enters any war is to liberate and leave. To do this, enemy combatants and our own are sacrificed. We do not, and have never targeted innocents. The writer who accuses our military of mortal sin is typical of American Catholics who have misinterpreted Vatican II. Possibly The Catholic Virginian should consider that the only reason that it has the freedom to publish at all is because of the ultimate sacrifice made over and over again by our military.
(Editor: Once again, The Catholic Virginian states that letters to the editor which are printed do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or its publisher. They provide a forum in which readers can express their opinion with which others may disagree.)
War in Iraq still debatedIn the June 18, 2007 edition of The Catholic Virginian, there are a number of Letters detailing the moral dilemma for our military personnel in honorably executing their voluntary military service while acknowledging and adhering to the principle of “justifiable war.” As a retired Catholic Naval officer with three children that have served in war zones over the past five years, I am sensitive to the issue of official government policy while honoring our faith and commitment to our Catholic principles for proper moral conduct. I publicly opposed the preemptive war in Iraq BEFORE hostile action took place. As a result of an opposition letter I’d written to a newspaper detailing my opposition to the Administration’s rationale and justification for going to war, I was invited and appeared on a Sunday morning local TV talk show where I unwaveringly disagreed with the need for war. My opposition was not based on the potential danger that faced me on a personal level because of the risk that my children might be in if deployed to the war. As a father, I was, of course, deeply concerned for their safety but also knew that as members of an all volunteer military my children had reconciled themselves to the realities and dangers of military and I had accepted this as the price we pay for freedom. My opposition was based in my belief that Iraq posed no threat to us. A couple of letters published in the 6/18 CV mention the views of Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger’s (now Pope Benedict) on the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq as well as the United Nations as the final institutional authority for authorizing war. I agree with Pope John Paul II and his view that all the conditions for a “just war” had not been met and therefore the war in Iraq may be illegal under the United States Constitution as well as international laws. I believed then and do still that the invasion itself was certainly immoral. Respectfully, I disagree with the view of Cardinal Ratzinger that the UN should be the final war authorization arbiter. Did Cardinal Ratzinger mean the moral authority to go to war should reside in the hands of the same UN that oversaw and sat idly by as genocide was committed in Rwanda? My disagreement with Pope Benedict is political and not rooted in our Catholic teachings of love and peace. Idealistically, the world would be a better place if the lion lay down with the lamb and we could turn swords into plowshares. As a practical matter that we must have a military, I strongly object and save my most blistering rebuke of Donald Williams’ letter wherein he solicits rhetorically, why aren’t our Catholic military men and women guilty of a mortal sin for having served in an “unjust war” as they knew this before hostilities actually started. Mr. Williams seems to believe that the men and women that serve our country have a say in what war and where they will serve. War is a political decision of governments. In our country, the military is controlled by the political leadership. The consequences, (both legally and morally) for going to war rest squarely on the politicians’ shoulders. Until nations and people stop killing in the name of God, we must have a military to stand the watch, be vigilant and answer our nation’s call to arms in the defense of our freedoms, culture and way of life. To do less would be immoral.
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