What's annoying is a Catholic bishop reproaching the US for having a "culture of vengeance" in re not wanting the merciful end of life release from prison for the Lockerbie bomber.
On the one hand, I agree that the US has a really nasty culture of vengeance, and on the other, I find it impossible to believe that a Catholic bishop is being entirely honest in opposing it.
It's important to remember that not all the bishops are equally assholish. It's ... theoretically possible, at least, for a bishop to earnestly believe that, but be forced into staying silent on that Other Issue due to threat of excommunication. And for someone with a genuine calling to that sort of thing, I can see a very difficult choice there: which does more good, long term: to speak up and be excommunicated, or to stay silent and continue to do your own good work within the church.
For such a hypothetical person, that decision can't be easy, and while >I< think there's a clear right answer, I'm also not a bishop.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-12 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-12 03:53 pm (UTC)On the one hand, I agree that the US has a really nasty culture of vengeance, and on the other, I find it impossible to believe that a Catholic bishop is being entirely honest in opposing it.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-12 04:18 pm (UTC)For such a hypothetical person, that decision can't be easy, and while >I< think there's a clear right answer, I'm also not a bishop.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-12 11:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-13 12:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-13 12:59 am (UTC)(no subject)