Criminals may deserve many things, says the Catholic Church, but vengeance is not one of them. That All Life Is Valuable . We who claim to be followers of Jesus need to search out the roots and reasons for our current attitudes about punishment for offenders. We must ask ourselves whether or not the negative power of vengeance has found a home in our hearts rather than the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. Deacon George Brooks waits outside Cook County Jail.
Some people go into prisons and form friendships with the men and women there.
Many write letters to prisoners they've never met. Some help prisoners continue their education in prison, while others train them for jobs. Some people take on the task of watching pending legislation and organizing letter-writing campaigns on important bills. Today, however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent. The Catechism of the Catholic Church was recently revised to reflect this strong stance by the pope against capital punishment.