Where were the bishops when Troy Davis died?

[jaxx]

Sun Feb 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM PST
Where were the bishops when Troy Davis died?
by Dante Atkins for Daily Kos

<..> The Catholic Church officially opposes capital punishment. This doctrine is in the same vein as those opposing abortion, birth control, and physician-assisted suicide: church doctrine dictates that life begins at conception and is a gift from God. Consequently, it is beyond the scope of any soul, no matter how high the earthly authority, to terminate a human life. It does not matter if it is legal, and it does not matter if the rationale is to relieve suffering: the taking of life is God's department, not ours.

Yet in the middle of September, as opposition to the impending execution of Troy Davis reached a fever pitch and a singular opportunity presented itself for the Church to not just call for an act of mercy, but support a key element of doctrine, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was silent as the grave. Yes, some local Catholic bishops in Georgia did support the conscience of their doctrine by calling for a reprieve, but the USCCB, the organization most responsible for lobbying and policy advocacy on behalf of the Holy See here in the United States, sat idly by. The execution of a possibly innocent man was not enough to stir the bishops into action. But birth control? That's a different story altogether.

<..> One could commend the bishops' commitment to principle if it were based on any sincerity. Unfortunately, that seems not to be the case. Our tax dollars subsidize executions in every state where they are conducted, as well as pay for the wars and occupations that offend a true Catholic conscience, yet these bishops will not lift a finger to stop the execution of one possibly innocent man, let alone work to prevent their believers from paying for these egregious violations of doctrine.

Yes, the hypocrisy is shameful, and it serves as yet another reminder that in this mean-spirited age, the only doctrines that conservatives deem worth standing up for are those that punish and impede, rather than those that demonstrate any inkling of compassion and mercy.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/19...ily+Kos%29

What will the verbose bishops have to say about this?

Crickets

[SeattleGirl]

I sure didn't see any at the demonstration against the execution of Troy Davis that I attended.

[jaxx]

(02-19-2012 08:46 PM)SeattleGirl Wrote:  I sure didn't see any at the demonstration against the execution of Troy Davis that I attended.

Shows what hypocrites they are. Once out of the womb, you're toast.

[Treestar]

It would have been smart on the Church's part to highlight their consistency on that point.

[Brewman_Jax]

The silence from the bishops is deafening, even more so when the condemned has the wrong skin color.

Like said above, once they're born, they don't care. If they're from the wrong demographic group, they don't care.

[DFW]

They claim to be "pro-life."

Falsely so, I might add.

[OptimistesMaddie]

when the pedophiles are raping the children?

[WIDem]

Those bishops have a lot of 'splainin' to do. (and I was raised Catholic. I'm waiting....)

[janedrake]

Come to think of it, where was the mofo, Rick "pro-life" Santorum -- further, where was the sainted Dr. Paul -- why wasn't his signature on the Congressional letter that pleaded for Davis' life?