Repentance

At Mere Comments, Lee Podles discusses Catholic reaction to the execution of Saddam, and, more generally, the Catholic attitude about punishment, vengeance and the appropriate role of the state:

Repentance is the first word of the gospel message, but it has been strangely absent from Catholic discourse for many decades. The gentle way in which sexual abusers were handled, the desire to protect criminals from their just punishment by the state, the strong sympathy for universal salvation which John Paul II evinced, all reveal a fundamental change in the Catholic attitude to sin and repentance, crime and punishment. Forgiveness is impossible without repentance, and repentance must include a desire to set right the evil that we have done, if only by accepting punishment for it. [the post can be found here]

The Roman Catholics are not the only Christians who seem to dismiss the necessity of repentance before forgiveness, or to confuse individual responsibility with the responsibilities of government to do justice and protect us all.

Paul Manuel's discussion of Forgiveness is relevant to this issue.

Source: Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments