Togo Set to Repeal Capital Punishment

ROME, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).-

Togo will soon be the latest country to abolish the death penalty, its minister of justice affirmed at a congress on capital punishment in Rome.The announcement was made Monday at the IV International Congress of Justice Ministers on Monday, hosted by the Community Sant'Egidio and attended by ministers, government officials and policy advisers from around the world.The congress was titled "From the Moratorium to the Abolition of Capital Punishment: No Justice Without Life."A press release from the community reported that Kokou Biossey Koné, Togo's justice minister, affirmed that the West African country's decision to abolish the death penalty came about due to the friendship that unites his country with Sant'Egidio.

Although Togo proposed the abolishment last December, the legislation is set to pass this week.Koné said the Sant'Egidio community had been in close contact with the government about this decision for over a few years.ProgressRepresentatives from 23 countries took part in the congress in Rome, which brought together parties on both sides of the issue of capital punishment. The community's president, Marco Impagliazzo, affirmed that this congress shows that the abolition of the death penalty represents a "new moral level" that will be even more difficult to ignore in the international scope.He noted that these congresses have helped many countries understand the necessary steps in order to move from maintaining capital punishment to abolishing it.

At the beginning of the 20th century only three countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Today, they are 93.Impagliazzo noted that Europe is the "first continent in the world without the death penalty. Today, no country can join the European Union if the death penalty is not abolished from its legal system."In Africa, he said that progress is being made, "where more and more countries are abolishing the death penalty." He noted the abolishment of capital punishment in Rwanda, Gabon, Burundi and Togo.The Sant'Egidio president said that the majority of Asian countries maintain the death penalty, as well as most states in the United States.Impagliazzo added, however, the progress being made in the United States, noting that New Mexico abolished capital punishment in March.New Jersey abolished the death penalty two years ago, and similar laws are under discussion in Nebraska, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Montana.

Catholic Diocese Head Joins Protest

Reported by: Larry Seward Email: seward@nbcactionnews.com Last Update: 9:39 pm

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The head of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph joined death penalty protesters voicing opposition to the scheduled execution of Dennis Skillicorn.“We have to figure out a way to protect society short of taking another life,” said Bishop Robert Finn.Dennis Skillicorn faced the death penalty for his role in the 1994 murder of Richard Drummond, a good Samaritan, who, at the time, was trying to help fix his attackers’ car in Excelsior Springs.For some of the protesters gathered on the Plaza Tuesday night, their demonstration was not just about Skillicorn. It was personal.“My son is on death row, Michael Anthony Taylor,” said Linda Taylor.20 years ago, Michael Taylor kidnapped, raped and killed Ann Harrison, 14. A court stayed Taylor’s scheduled execution two years ago. His mom acknowledges the terrible nature of Michael’s crimes. However, she refuses to accept lethal injection as fair and just punishment.“My thing is why do we kill people who kill people,” Taylor asked. “Is it to show killing is wrong? That’s wrong. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”“The real goal is to protect the legitimate well-being of people,” said Bishop Finn.Finn sympathizes with Drummond’s family. Finn said Drummond was an example to members of the Christian faith. Finn does not doubt Skillicorn did wrong. However, Finn will never support the death penalty for any reason.“We don’t correct that by taking his life,” Bishop Finn said. “Lock him up. Let him work on rehabilitation. There are some signs that he experienced some inner conversion. That’s good. Thanks be to God for that.”

“Give Me Liberty or…?”

The New Hampshire state motto is “Give me liberty or give me death” – a phrase that often becomes the subject of libertarian essays on the importance of liberty and the evils of government. This conversation even penetrates the Church, and various people hold a wide array of positions on the question of liberty and government. What, then, is the Catholic position on the matter?

Proponents of liberty argue that human beings should be able to do for themselves, and that the purpose of government is to assist the family and the individual in their pursuit of happiness by defending their freedom and leading the person and family to self-sufficiency. These arguments depend upon the principle of subsidiarity, something that is foundational in Catholic social teaching. Subsidiarity, moreover, forms the basis of our American federal system where larger entities help the smaller entities to be more self-sufficient.

However, what happens when: 1 – a person becomes unable to be self-sufficient and needs the assistance of others, or 2 – when liberty becomes abused and threatens the social order? Proponents of liberty seem to suggest that liberty is an end in itself, and that when liberty is attained all is well. Yet, Alexander Hamilton pointed out that if men were angels there would be no need for government. We are not angels. Liberty is not an end, but rather a means to an end. As Pope John Paul II taught, the Catholic tradition argues that freedom is for service of God and others. What is more, government is necessary not only to ensure our freedom, but also to assist the individual when he or she is unable to help themselves.

The Catholic tradition also holds a revered place for solidarity, a virtue and a duty of the Christian life that requires us to care for the needs of others, to defend the common good, and to transcend our selfish nature. In fact, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church speaks far more about solidarity than subsidiarity. However, it must be pointed out that solidarity is primarily a virtue of the person and society to care for others. It still respects subsidiarity when required to do so. Still, a notion of liberty that would have us ignore the needs of the person who is no longer self-sufficient or the plight of those who are threatened with the excesses of liberty is not an authentic notion of liberty.

Thus, the Catholic position on the role of liberty and government is a middle position. The Church respects liberty but does not see it as an end in itself. Rather, liberty exists to serve God and others through the virtue of solidarity. At the same time, the Church respects the role of government in helping those who cannot help themselves and defending the rights of others while at the same time rejecting any notion of the state as becoming the provider of all goods and services. So, yes – give us liberty, but also a generous heart to use it for God and others.