Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 26, 2006 16:23:50 GMT -5
Bishop Opposes Death Sentence in North Dakota----"Does Not Erase the
Hurt," He Says
Bishop Samuel Aquila came out in opposition to the death sentence levied
against Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. for killing a University of North Dakota
student.
Rodriguez was recently found guilty of killing Dru Sjodin, 22. Today, the
jury sentenced him to the death penalty.
"The sentence of death which was imposed today upon Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.
obscures for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human
life," said Bishop Aquila in a statement.
"Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence
through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by
the first act," he contended. "Rather, it reinforces the false perspective
of revenge as justice. In doing so, it diminishes respect for all human
life, both the lives of the guilty and the innocent."
Dru Sjodin disappeared from a Grand Forks mall parking lot in November
2003. Her body was found in April 2004, in a ravine near Crookston,
Minnesota, where Rodriguez, 53, was living.
The death penalty is not legal in North Dakota, but the case was tried in
federal court which made the sentence possible, said Tanya Watterud,
diocesan director of communications, in a statement to ZENIT.
Bishop Aquila said: "Those who feel that imposition of the death penalty
can be used as a statement to dissuade future predators from similar
attacks are not looking at the full potential effect of violence as an
answer to violence.
"According to some of the testimony heard, Mr. Rodriguez experienced
violence as a child. He later inflicted violence as an adult. Violence
only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ."
(source: Zenit News)
***************
Death penalty reinforces false belief that revenge is justice, N.D. bishop
says
The death sentence imposed upon Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., Sept. 22 "obscures
for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human life," said
Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D.
"Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence
through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by
the 1st act," the bishop wrote in a statement.
"Rather, it reinforces the false perspective of revenge as justice. In
doing so, it diminishes respect for all human life, both the lives of the
guilty and the innocent," he said.
Rodriguez was convicted of killing University of North Dakota student Dru
Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Although North Dakota does not have the death penalty, it is available in
the federal system in which Rodriguez's case was held.
Some legislators believe the case may revive the death-penalty debate in
the state, insisting that it could provide a necessary deterrent for
future violent crimes of this sort. Lawmakers have not debated a death
penalty bill since 1995, when the North Dakota Senate defeated the idea.
The bishop, however, argued that the death penalty continues, rather than
thwarts, the cycle of violence in society. He also noted that the prison
systems are secure and make the death penalty unnecessary.
"Violence only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ," he
said "Furthermore, society today is capable of protecting itself by
sentences of life imprisonment without parole, allowing the person who has
committed such a violent crime time for conversion and repentance for his
action."
The bishop also cited Pope Benedict XVI, who recently said: "Violence is
incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul."
The bishop said he grieves for the family and friends of Rodriguezs
victim, Dru Sjodin, and for the family and friends of Rodriguez.
"We as a society, as Christians, as Americans, can serve victims of
violence better by seeking ways to combat violence against life at its
very source by teaching and living the truth that all life is gift, all
life is precious, and all life is to be protected," he said.
(source: Catholic News Agency)
Hurt," He Says
Bishop Samuel Aquila came out in opposition to the death sentence levied
against Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. for killing a University of North Dakota
student.
Rodriguez was recently found guilty of killing Dru Sjodin, 22. Today, the
jury sentenced him to the death penalty.
"The sentence of death which was imposed today upon Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.
obscures for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human
life," said Bishop Aquila in a statement.
"Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence
through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by
the first act," he contended. "Rather, it reinforces the false perspective
of revenge as justice. In doing so, it diminishes respect for all human
life, both the lives of the guilty and the innocent."
Dru Sjodin disappeared from a Grand Forks mall parking lot in November
2003. Her body was found in April 2004, in a ravine near Crookston,
Minnesota, where Rodriguez, 53, was living.
The death penalty is not legal in North Dakota, but the case was tried in
federal court which made the sentence possible, said Tanya Watterud,
diocesan director of communications, in a statement to ZENIT.
Bishop Aquila said: "Those who feel that imposition of the death penalty
can be used as a statement to dissuade future predators from similar
attacks are not looking at the full potential effect of violence as an
answer to violence.
"According to some of the testimony heard, Mr. Rodriguez experienced
violence as a child. He later inflicted violence as an adult. Violence
only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ."
(source: Zenit News)
***************
Death penalty reinforces false belief that revenge is justice, N.D. bishop
says
The death sentence imposed upon Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., Sept. 22 "obscures
for all of society the truth of the inherent dignity of human life," said
Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, N.D.
"Responding to this senseless act of violence with another act of violence
through imposition of the death penalty does not erase the hurt caused by
the 1st act," the bishop wrote in a statement.
"Rather, it reinforces the false perspective of revenge as justice. In
doing so, it diminishes respect for all human life, both the lives of the
guilty and the innocent," he said.
Rodriguez was convicted of killing University of North Dakota student Dru
Sjodin, 22, of Pequot Lakes, Minn.
Although North Dakota does not have the death penalty, it is available in
the federal system in which Rodriguez's case was held.
Some legislators believe the case may revive the death-penalty debate in
the state, insisting that it could provide a necessary deterrent for
future violent crimes of this sort. Lawmakers have not debated a death
penalty bill since 1995, when the North Dakota Senate defeated the idea.
The bishop, however, argued that the death penalty continues, rather than
thwarts, the cycle of violence in society. He also noted that the prison
systems are secure and make the death penalty unnecessary.
"Violence only promotes violence and is not the way of Jesus Christ," he
said "Furthermore, society today is capable of protecting itself by
sentences of life imprisonment without parole, allowing the person who has
committed such a violent crime time for conversion and repentance for his
action."
The bishop also cited Pope Benedict XVI, who recently said: "Violence is
incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul."
The bishop said he grieves for the family and friends of Rodriguezs
victim, Dru Sjodin, and for the family and friends of Rodriguez.
"We as a society, as Christians, as Americans, can serve victims of
violence better by seeking ways to combat violence against life at its
very source by teaching and living the truth that all life is gift, all
life is precious, and all life is to be protected," he said.
(source: Catholic News Agency)