Fwd.: Compassion and Revenge.

[Mac Quart]

I am impressed by the title of these emails.  "Compassion and Revenge."  Two words
very important to the situation we are in.  But unlike what I am seeing here, there
is no right or wrong in this.  We must forgive those who have done this but that
doesn't mean we must let those who have wronged us go.  Like parents of a murdered
child, we must forgive those murderers but we still must punish them.  As individual
people and followers of God, we must find it in our hearts to forgive.  This is very
difficult, I know.  But Jesus did teach us to forgive others so that we may be
forgiven (Mt 6:14.)  This is very important so that we may not fall into the trap
that the terrorists have led us, for the act of terrorism is not intended to cause
death, but to cause fear and anger in the hearts of those attacked.  Many of you who
are Catholic must remember the prayer that Jesus taught us and I am sure you have
said many times recently in which we ask God to help us to "forgive those who
trespass against us."  So from a personal standpoint we must forgive those who have
done this, especially those who have died because there is nothing more that they
can do to us or we can do to them so it is fruitless for us to waste our energy with
hatred, after all, they are in God's hands now.  However, it is wrong for us to
ignore the fact that there are others who are preparing, even as I write this email,
to continue this fight.  They helped to plan this attack.  They are planning ways in
which to kill more innocent people.  For this we must act.  We must find who else is
involved and punish them.  It is not a matter of vengence, but justice and
prevention.   It is one thing to forgive, it is another thing to forgive and ignore.
 Yes, we must forgive those who have done this, but we must also seek to stop
further acts of agression and send a message that we are not going to allow this to
happen again.  Even the Catholic Church teaches that "Legitimate public authority
has the right and duty to inflict penalties commensurate with the gravity of the
crime" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2266.)  But the key word is "legitimate."
We as individuals must not go off, half-cocked and looking for revenge, but we must
allow our leaders to investigate, find out who is responsible, and attack.  We are
all called to forgive the murderer of his crime, but also punish him as a matter of
good for the whole society.  I am sorry that I can't write more but I am sitting in
class writing while the teacher is talking.
If you wish to respond but not to the whole group, feel free to email me.

Mac
macsquartayahoo.com

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