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Manila, Philippines, Mar 20, 2017 / 08:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Remember what Jesus’ cross stands for, and don’t misuse the Bible to justify the death penalty, the Philippines’ Catholic bishops have said.
“To the people who use the Bible to defend the death penalty, need we point out how many other crimes against humanity have been justified, using the same Bible?” the country’s bishops asked.
“We humbly enjoin them to interpret the Scriptures properly, to read them as a progressive revelation of God’s will to humankind, with its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, God’s definitive Word to the world.”
Their words came in a March 19 pastoral statement on the death penalty signed by Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas of Lingayen Dagupan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The statement was read at all Masses in the country on Sunday.
Jesus came not to abolish the law, but fulfill it, the bishops explained: “Jesus was never an advocate of any form of ‘legal killing’. He defended the adulterous woman against those who demanded her blood and challenged those who were without sin among them to be the first to cast a stone on her.”
The letter opened with a quotation from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “God proved his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006. At present President Rodrigo Duterte, who is also leading a brutal crackdown on drugs, has advocated its restoration.
In their letter, the Catholic bishops recounted the passage of a House of Representatives bill that would restore the death penalty.
“It was Ash Wednesday when members of the lower House, on the second reading of the death penalty bill, outvoted by voice-voting the nays with their ayes. Ironically, they were captured on television shouting in favor of death with their foreheads marked with crosses made of ashes,” the bishops said.
“Could they have forgotten what that cross meant?”
They questioned whether the legislators had missed that the crosses on their foreheads “were supposed to serve as a loud statement of faith in the God who, for love of us, chose to give up his life for our salvation, rather than see us perish.”
According to the bishops, the saying of the Bible, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was challenged by Jesus, who advocated non-retaliation of evil for evil and justice founded on mercy.
“Even with the best of intentions, capital punishment has never been proven effective as a deterrent to crime,” they continued. “Obviously it is easier to eliminate criminals than to get rid of the root causes of criminality in society. Capital punishment and a flawed legal system are always a lethal mix. “
The statement also spoke about the victims.
“We are not deaf to the cries of the victims of heinous crimes. The victims and their victimizers are both our brothers and sisters. The victim and the opressor are both children of God,” they said.
They said the guilty should repent and make reparation for their sins. The bishops offered love, compassion and hope to crime victims.
The death penalty will be applied more to the poor, who cannot afford adequate legal defenses, the bishops said.
“As a law, death penalty directly contradicts the principle of inalienability of the basic human right to life, which is enshrined in most constitutions of countries that signed the universal declaration of human rights,” they said.
The Philippines bishops called for prayers for the country’s legislators.
“Let us offer all our Masses for them, asking our Crucified Lord who offered his whole life, body and blood, for the salvation of sinners, to touch their consciences and lead them to abolish capital punishment once and for all,” they said.
Washington D.C., Mar 20, 2017 / 04:34 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The bill drafted to replace the Affordable Care Act has good pro-life measures but still presents “grave challenges” that must be remedied, said one leading bishop in a recent state… […]
Lima, Peru, Mar 20, 2017 / 03:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Evangelina Chamorro was swept away for over a third of a mile by an avalanche of mud on the coast south of Lima. But she survived and said that thinking about “God and her daughters” gave her the strength.
In recent weeks, heavy rains have caused avalanches and floods in various parts of the country. Official reports note 70 dead and 70,000 victims throughout the country.
Evangelina, 32, was swept away from the Peruvian forest by a mudslide that reached the Punta Hermosa resort area about 25 miles south of the Peruvian capital.
She lived with her husband and daughters in a small house in a forested area near the resort. Evangelina and her husband were swept away by the mudslide when they both left their house to feed their animals in their nearby corral.
In a statement quoted in La Republica newspaper, Evangelina’s husband, Armando Rivera, said that “we went out to feed the animals when in the distance we heard a loud noise. I thought two trucks had crashed into each other on the highway.”
“We managed to grab onto the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, but the force of the avalanche made us lose our grip. I saw the mud carrying away my wife. I didn’t think I would find her alive. God is great, it’s a miracle she’s alive!” he said after being discharged from the hospital.
Evangelina is still hospitalized but making a remarkable recovery. Her body was struck by lumber, nails and other debris swept away by the mudslide.
She said that while she was swept away by the avalanche, “I thought of giving up, but the whole time I was asking God to give me the strength to keep on fighting.”
The Church in Peru is continuing to mobilize to help the thousands of people affected by the rains and floods which since January have been hitting different parts of the country especially the northern coast and part of the capital.
Since Jan. 14, rains caused by the El Nino Effect have made rivers overflow and avalanches of rocks and mud, affecting a number of areas.
So far the climactic phenomenon – which will continue the next few weeks – has caused the deaths of 62 people, 11 missing and 170 injured.
According the the report from the Center for National Emergency Operations, there are 552,866 people affected on the national level; 62,642 victims, 115,748 damaged homes, of which 7,974 have collapsed and 7,925 are uninhabitable.
In response, the various dioceses along with local Caritas organizations have launched solidarity and prayer campaigns on behalf of the victims.
Cardinal Juan Cipriani, Archbishop and Primate of Peru, announced the definitive cancellation of the 2017 March for Life in order to concentrate efforts on helping the victims of the natural disasters the country is suffering from.
Pope Francis expressed his “closeness to the people of Peru hard hit by the devastating rains.”
“I am praying for the victims and those involved in relief work,” he said.
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He’s a New York Times bestselling author several times over. He’s an award-winning journalist and producer. And his weekly EWTN show, The W… […]
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