Let us bury the religion argument, said Cebu Gov. Pablo Garcia in answering the Catholic Church's reminder that only God can take a life. Christ no longer walks among us, the governor said. He now uses instruments for His holy work. In convicted child rapist Leo Echegaray's case, the hangman becomes his instrument for justice, he added. Within the Church itself, there is at least one dissenting voice, that of Fr.
Catechism is more specific about the death penalty.
Then, there's the passion of the Church to defend life even if it's not innocent and the poor who are mostly the ones who cannot fight the killing machine. The clash stems more from difference in viewing the condition for applying the rule than any defect of the rule itself. For the Church, however, to wage better the battle for its cause, it helps if the clergy speaks out the same plea. We're not vampires, retorted Cebu City Asst. As long as each side uses the law's remedies, prosecution can't be blood-thirsty and the defense helpless victims.