coolcrayons asked: You made a statement about self defense with excessive force. What does the church say in regards to issues regarding gun control then? Self defense cases with guns win in court enough where people feel secure having one in their home. All the time, police officers shoot a “criminal” who also has a gun pointed at them or someone else (and they are certain this said person will shoot)… they take an “open shot” even though sometimes they know that the shot will be deadly. Is that still sinful?
And then what about the death penalty? I assume you believe that it is wrong, but who exactly is committing the sin? The jury, the judge, the person who administers the chemical… or some kind of combination?
Let’s say that abortion becomes illegal. What should happen to someone that has an illegal abortion, since it “is” murder? Should the father be considered an accomplise or just as much at fault as the mother if they came to a decision together? What about the person who helps perform the abortion, if there is one?What does the church say in regards to issues regarding gun control then? Gun control is something the Church does not take a stand on because it is not a “moral” issue. Firearms are an object that is not inherently evil in nature. It is upon the conscience of the wielder to utilize it for moral or amoral purposes.
Police officers taking an “open shot” – Is that still sinful? Again, the issue is intent. The section of the Catechism that I quoted, CCC 2264, in response to your previous question makes it quite clear that, “If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful.” So yes, if the officer uses more force than necessary (knowingly) than it would be a sin (IMO).
And then what about the death penalty? Here is what the Church has to say about the capital punishment:
Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm — without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself — the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent. (NT) (1997 Catechism of the Catholic Church 2267)What should happen to someone that has an illegal abortion, since it “is” murder? Should the father be considered an accomplice or just as much at fault as the mother if they came to a decision together? What about the person who helps perform the abortion, if there is one? We already know that the Church is opposed to abortion, legal or not. In the US, abortion (killing an unborn baby) is not legally murder. This is because the state refuses to recognize the unborn child’s inalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (U.S. Declaration of Independence).
The Catechism says this on abortion (to address the questions):
2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.(71)Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.(72)My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.(73)2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.(74)God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves.Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.(75)
2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.”A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,”(76) “by the very commission of the offense,”(77) and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.(78)The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.
Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:”The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority.These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin.Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.”(79)“The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law.When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined….As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.“(80)
2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, “if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual….It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”(81)
2275 “One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival.”(82)”It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material.”(83)”Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities.Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity”(84) which are unique and unrepeatable. (1997 Catechism of the Catholic Church)
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