As I was about to start this controversial issue I was triggered to research from some of our top newspaper writers to even really dig out what the real issue is about, justice or revenge? Is death penalty a biblical option? Who is really the real victim of this case? Is it acceptable to the Law of God and society to kill a person?
Doing this article is not a joke. We are dealing here with political, social and moral implications. The Supreme Court’s approval on the execution of the convicted rapist Leo Echegaray will not be its last but rather a turning point for another death row of twelve convicted men. Neither will the Church and FLAG leaders change their stand on death penalty. And so the clashes between them will continue. Yet we have to be well aware that the decision to retain the RA 7659 as it had been fully debated by senate is as crucial as how the other countries sees the dignity of the Filipino people and on how mature is our judicial system over these matters.
But let me take you to another part of this story where burning words from both sides are seen. Actually, I was impressed that one of the pro-death is Fr. Sonny Ramirez, OP. So far, he is the only priest I have heard that is a “retentionist”. Upon stating his viewpoints, he was treated as a separatist by the Church but I admire his courage to voice out his conscience. I am inspired by his words so allow me to include some of his opinions and stands with regard to death penalty along the way.
We all believe that life is God’s greatest gift and it’s sacred because it is created by God who is also sacred Eventually, life had its distinct dignity and its destiny is homeward bound to heaven. We are all journeying to reach our ultimate goal, to be with God in His Kingdom.
To deepen this, life in itself is accompanied by a responsibility to respect, protect, honor, and care for its very identity, life of the others around him, but especially within his most immediate society, his family. We are interdependent with each other with an obligation to be productive in the society, to show love, and not to exploit nor take advantage of the weakness of others.
The very moment man abuses and destroys the very principle of self-respect, dignity, and respect for others, he automatically kills the very life in him. And by the Laws of God and of the society, he will suffer the consequences. We are not to blame the society for it only facilitates what is due to every man so as to protect and preserve life.
Moreso, let me associate with exact conventionality this present situation and problems with the teaching of the AngelicDoctor, St. Thomas Aquinas as directly quoted from his Summa Theologica Ila Ilae Question 64 Article 2: “I answer that, it is lawful to kill dumb animals, in so far as they are naturally directed to man’s use, as the imperfect is directed to the perfect. Now, every part is directed to the whole, as imperfect, wherefore every part is naturally for the sake of the whole. For this reason we observe that if the health of the whole body demands the excision of a member, through it’s being decayed or infectious to the other members, it is both praiseworthy and advantageous to have it cut away. Now every individual person is compared to the whole community, as part to whole. Therefore if a man be dangerous and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and advantageous that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good since a little leaven corrupts the whole lump.” (Cor 5:6)
This is even seconded by the newly edited Catechism of the Catholic Church ( page 546, part 3, no. 2266), thus stated: “Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-found the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish male factors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding in case of extreme gravity, the death penalty. For analogous reasons those holding authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the community in their necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”
Basing from the facts presented above, it clearly puts the common good on higher concern than the individual good thus a death of one person is necessary if he possesses danger to the welfare of the common people. In other words, the Law of Society on capital punishment is just and valid as the due process of law has been laid.
Leo Echagaray deserves to live if he did not rape his daughter Baby five time from age ten onwards. He even on one time got the nerve to molest Baby in front of his younger son who was just two years old. HE still instist on his innocence inspite of so many court trials that even reached the Supreme Court who uphold the case for several times.
Making things more abominable and detestable, he got the gall to view an x-rated film on the eve of his suspended death day. What could this request mean? That he still desires to have another bed scenario with Baby– and the outlet is the film? Tha would be a big slap on Baby’s face… Leo is still laughing even on the last day of his life.
The public outcry for Leo Echagaray’s execution is not a shout of vengeance, but a shout of justice. Demanding justice for Baby does not necessarily mean we’re Pro-Death, rather we’re very much Pro-Life and Pro-Justice. We’re concerned of the rights of the people and for the justice of the bereaved and afflicted. We’re after for a just, peaceful, and ordered society where all men are equal, whether the rights and dignity of life are sustained and respected. It is for these reasons that Leo’s execution is just and right!
Yes, I believe death is the confrontation with the Author of Life but He is God of Peace and Order. This is enough to accept Death Penalty on very extreme particular cases. He may have been a father to Baby for ten years but he became a best in those several short and dark hours that put an end to the very womanhood of his child. Leo killed the child’s right to live her childhood with gladness, of destroying her very chance of dreaming and of fulfilling these dreams. Baby – shattered and broken – is actually the one who received the lethal injection. Every time Leo took advantage of her, every minute of terror, anguish and pain…it’s even better to b dead once than to carry the horrifying experiences all of your life.
Lastly, Leo should not blame the society for we did not condemn him to death, he chose death for himself when he committed in full conscience those horrendous acts.
My dear readers, don’t say I’m biased in this report. I am just showing you what I think is more logical to believe. It is just to give him what he deserved — death. And let me leave you a food for thought, “Baby’s dead but she is still walking. ”
This is a very good article, I am sure many professional writers wish they could produce something as good as this.
I read it looking for an argument that I might reply with, but i found none. It is almost as you pulled the thoughts right out of my mind, ordered them and presented them in an expert manner.
The only comment I have, is if I were a criminal in a maximum security prison for life, I might opt for the death penalty myself. That of course is another topic.
Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an argument in favor of the death penalty written from a religious perspective.
for venagozar: thanks for the appreciation… i really need that now.. I’ve been slacking on my writing skills for a few years and here I am again tryingto renew my life… those words mean so much to me..thanks!
for CODY:
I trying to put things in a different perspective. I had a good laugh from your comment.! thank you!
The God of Justice
Ever since the Fall of man God has been crying, not tears of depression and despair, but tears of love. Simply put, God loves justice and hates injustice because He loves people. Fundamentally, we believe in a God with an unmatched and unquenchable love for humanity that is burning within Him. He shows it in Creation, in His Word, on the Cross (see “The Passion”) and daily in our lives. Furthermore, God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27) with glorious purposes, to worship Him in a love-filled intimate relationship. How do you think He feels when the wicked tear the innocent to pieces, robbing His beloved of their very lives? The Bible says: “You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors” (Psalms 5:6). God says: “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity” (Isaiah 61:8), and David recognized, “You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless” (Psalm 10:13, 14). How much is God’s heart for justice a part of His character? What does it have to do with knowing the one and only God? He made that clear when He said: “Does it make you a king to have more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” (Jeremiah 22:15-16) To seek justice is to know God. Lest one fall prey to false theology and think that justice is an Old Testament notion that an angry God thought of, hear what Jesus had to say. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for neglecting “the more important matters of the law…justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). And in His mission statement, Christ declared His holy purpose: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” That refers not only to spiritual freedom from bondage to sin and death, but also to physical freedom from slavery and every kind of oppression. Jesus came to change lives, heal hearts and free souls in every way.
Later in the New Testament, James 1:27 says: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” In essence, James says that God wants us to be Holy—to be set apart from the things of the world and set apart for the things of God, and to take care of or “look after” those who are defenseless and weak. As Solomon shows us that injustice is all about power, “…I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors…” (Ecclesiastes 4:1), an essential part of caring for the weak is securing justice for them and defending their human rights by bringing power to their side. The genocide in Sudan, which has claimed 70,000 lives and made 1.5 million homeless, is a current example of the magnitude of injustice and a challenge to Christians to “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering towards slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11). If God’s people do nothing about the slaughter of those made in the image of God, who will? If we fail to rise up and loudly proclaim that our God hates genocide, that His desire is for the rescue of innocent Sudanese and their perpetrators to be held accountable, then people will have to decide by themselves how the God of Christianity feels about this. Even though genocide is all the way in Africa, we are called to be the light of the World, to show up where there is darkness and bring liberation, justice and life. At the same time, we must stand for justice in our schools, communities and country. We can not neglect the poor, immigrants or refugees who lack the power to represent themselves in our society and are often taken advantage of. Neither can we neglect the thousands of abused and abandoned children in our own neighborhoods, orphans in need of loving families, not the temporary and oftentimes cold homes offered by exhausted foster parents and state shelters. If the fatherless find compassion in Jesus, then shouldn’t they also find it in us?
Let us not forget about abortion. If we as Christians are serious about reducing the number of abortions taking place in this country, then we must respond by not just trying to change laws. What if instead of standing outside abortion clinics to hurl condemnation and guilt, we stood to give a woman a real chance to change her mind? If we really want to fully represent how Jesus feels about the situation, then we must stand with open arms of compassion, grace and mercy, willing to offer whatever emotional, spiritual and material resources we have to help a woman decide not to have an abortion. God’s Word is clear that in the midst of God’s anger lies a deep well of mercy, grace and compassion. The story of Jonah’s call to Ninevah clearly shows God’s character: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened (3:10).” Here was a group of people as evil as can be, living in wickedness before God. And yet, God’s first heart response was to give them a real opportunity to change. Jonah’s reaction to God’s great mercy reveals something significant about his heart towards the people of Ninevah: “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (4:1-2). This is certainly no contradiction on God’s part, as the Psalmist proclaims, “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion” (Psalm 116:5). At the same time God responds with anger at loss of innocent life, and deep compassion, grace and mercy towards the woman about to commit a sin that will take the life of her baby and deeply scar her own heart as well. The truth is abortion is extremely harmful for women, many of whom feel deep pain, guilt and regret, and fall into depression soon after. I recently saw a group of women on T.V. holding up signs that read “I regret my abortion.” More women need to come out and break the silence of shame, to expose the lie that abortion is great idea, or always a safe way out. If we are going to seek justice in any arena we will always need to address the underlying causes, and respond to save the victim by prayer, law and force, and show compassion on the oppressor through mercy and grace. Without the Spirit of God and His overwhelming Grace covering us, we could never do this.
It is not too difficult to know how God feels on most matters as He portrays His character and heart throughout His Word. He said: “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise. I will protect them from those who malign them” (Psalm 12:5). Once more David, called a man after God’s own heart, said: “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed…He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted” (Psalm 9:9, 12). God does not do this by waving a magic wand or speaking it, but by using humble and obedient people who put their trust in Him and by faith “…administer justice…” (Hebrews 11:33). He rises up when His Church shows up and cries out to be used by Him to rescue the prisoner, to save the victim of genocide. Yes, we must pray because prayer moves the heart of God and is absolutely effective and necessary, but we also must “arise and protect.” It is only when we look at Jesus, at His heart, power and purpose, that we begin to find strength to fight for those who can not fight for themselves. As IJM declares, “The good news about injustice is that God is against it.” We can truly have hope in the midst of a dark world because of four unchangeable truths about God: God loves justice and abhors injustice, God has compassion for those who suffer injustice, God judges and condemns those who perpetrate injustice and God seeks active rescue for the victims of injustice (Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World, pg. 69-70). So how is God at work manifesting His heart for the oppressed by seeking justice for them? One way is through IJM.