History of the Catholic Church on the Death penalty and How it Changed Research Paper

History of the Catholic Church on the Death penalty and How it Changed Over Time - Research Paper Example In the early days of Christianity, death penalty however was favored by the Church as asserted by St. Augustine. During Catholicism’s infancy, it was viewed as a way of deterring the commission of sins and a means to protect the innocent from the wicked. Thomas Aquinas during the Middle Age upheld this view on the death penalty that the state does only have the right, but is also duty bound to protect its flock from its enemies both from within and without the Church (Book 3, Chapter 146). At that time, it was thought that dispensing such punishment is not a sin for it is the justice of God that is being carried out. Such, it is only proper then that by removing evil from society will preserve the good. Such that, evil men that undermines and is an impediment of the common good should be removed from the society of men through death. Many passages of the Holy Bible were used to justify this early position of the Catholic Church on the death penalty. While it was commanded that â€Å"thou shall not commit murder†, it was argued in I Peter (2, 13-14) that thou should â€Å"be subjected therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether to be on the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of good†. ... During the same time, especially on the First Crusade in 1095, the Catholic Church, through Pope Urban II implied the penalty of death penalty to non-Christians when it encouraged the retaking of the Holy Land by force. As a result, Jews and Muslims alike were killed in the process for being non-Catholics. Death penalty was also used as a political weapon against its dissenters on its colony especially in the South East Asia. At the time when Spain invaded through the use of the Cross and Sword an unknown island in East known today as the Philippines (after King Philip of Spain), death penalty was used against those who call for secession from Spain. For more than 300 years (1565-1898), the death penalty was used against political enemy by pressuring the Governor General who then ruled the archipelago But circumstances and time change and so did the position of the Catholic Church on the death penalty. Despite of its previous position on the death penalty, the Catholic Church is now one of the most fervent advocates of the abolition of the death penalty. Whilst before it find necessary to remove the wicked to protect the innocent through death, it now calls for a deeper respect for the human life and that position even transcended even to the unborn. Recent position of the Catholic Church about death penalty changed to the abrogation of the death penalty. One of the Church’s recent Pope who was vocal against the imposition of death penalty was Karol Wojtila or Pope John Paul II. â€Å"During his tenure, the news media devoted substantial, even inordinate, attention to John Paul’s pronouncements on abortion, divorce, gay rights, the death penalty, euthanasia, human cloning, and other controversial topics† (Mulligan, 2006). †The Holy See has consistently sought the

Unit 1 Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 1 Critical Thinking - Essay Example According to Rawson (2007), death is not the end of all issues and troubles. He explains that if a man had died with a headache or anger, this will continue on even after death until he is able to recognise and learn the truth about the issue (Rawson F. L., 2007). Being unsatisfied with everything that we have is one of the major traits of almost every human being. It is only when everything is taken away from us that we realise and are grateful for what God has given us. Personally we display traits where no matter what we have in life we regret not having other things. This makes us not value life and all the blessing around us instead we crave to gain more and more setting the important things in life aside. This is very similar to a mouse, where the mouse moves around everywhere with aim of getting more food, without realising the dangers involved in its life. If a mouse were to stay content with the food it has, and look only when needed instead of to try and stock up the chances of it being attacked by a cat is relatively lower. However for the mouse to understand this, it would take, for it to be attacked by a cat. Hence the saying ‘the mouse does not know life until it has been into the mouth of the cat’. Irrespective of which culture, caste or creed one belongs, the life that God has given is the same for all. Each of us requires understanding and cherishing every moment of life rather than cribbing and crying in spite of all the blessings we have in life. God has created all of for a reason and has sent us down to Earth to fulfil our responsibilities. It is important that we understand this without having to reach the extreme stage of loss (Katz, 1996). Like the proverb states, the mouse only understands the worth of life when in the cat’s mouth, similarly we only understand the importance of life when we are about to die. That’s the