When John Geoghan was killed in prison a few years ago (remember, he was the defrocked priest who abused so many young children over many years), I was having lunch with a good friend who isn't Catholic- she said she was glad it had happened to him. The murder of this man was brutal- a fellow inmate stomped him to death, while guards, for whatever reason, didn't intervene. I remember nodding along, saying "yeah, I know what you mean" but something didn't feel right.
Last night when I crawled into bed and turned on the tv, I was surprised to hear that Saddam Hussein had been hanged to death. I guess this is a good ethical question to chew over. Is it right to kill a person, because they've killed others?
After I gave my conversation about Geoghan some thought I realized that I don't know what's right, what's just, what's fair, but what I do know is this: I don't want to be a person who thinks murder is ever justified.
I'm sorry that Hussein ever came to power like he did, I'm horrified by the terrible things he did while in power, I hope and pray for the souls of those he killed, and I pray for his soul too. It's the only way I can feel right about situations like this.
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2 comments:
we were driving in the car when the radio announced that Saddam would be executed in the evening, and that they were going play a song for him. My 13 yr old son was curious -- what song could they possibly play for an occasion like that. I guessed right - Led Zepplin's Hang Man. When the song ended I noticed my son was crying. He explaned that he didn't think anyone should be killed on purpose. He understands as much as any middle school kid could be expected to (or any of us for that matter) about all the horrendous things Saddam was responsible for, but he was clear about his feeling two wrongs don't make a right, and that if Saddam is a bad guy for killing people on purpose wouldn't the people who kill him on purpose be acting just as bad. I guess there can be simple answers to difficult questions.
Amen, sista.
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