Fwd.: Compassion and Revenge.

[Dan Mcwethy]

Hear hear. Retaliating "in kind" as many seem to
be suggesting will only mean we are bombing innocent
men, women and children. How many more suicidal
terrorists will that generate in the years to come?

Here is a good read on the subject:

http://slate.msn.com/Earthling/01-09-12/Earthling.asp



----- Original Message -----
From: "Mac Quart" <macsquartaYAHOO.COM>
To: <GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd.: Compassion and Revenge.


> 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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