When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. (And) Jesus said to her, Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servers, Do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, Fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter. So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now. Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. -The 2nd Luminous Mystery

Death Penalty







Death Penalty
Question from on 06-10-2007:
St. Thomas Aquinas gives an air-tight argument in favor of the death penalty, not as a means of protecting the common good, like the catechism, but as a prevention method and deterrent. The state, according to St. Thomas, had the authority to hang someone in the public square even when they could just as easily be imprisoned until death. This would serve as a warning to society not to become evil-doers themselves. It makes perfect sense.

But the late John Paul II and the Catechism both explicitly condemn the use of the death penalty unless it is the "only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." It would seem the CCC is at odds with the Church's greatest Doctor. Does this mean then that St. Thomas was wrong? A heretic even? Are we free to let ourselves be persuaded by St. Thomas's argument or are we obliged to accept everything in the catechism as infallible doctrine? If not every teaching in the Catechism is doctrine, how do we know which parts are and which aren't?
Answer by Fr.Stephen F. Torraco on 06-12-2007:
Actually, despite appearances, Pope John Paul II, the Catechism, and St. Thomas Aquinas are in agreement. You quote: unless it is the "only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." The question is: who determines whether it is the only possible way? According to St. Thomas and according to the Catechism, the answer is the legitimate civil authority, and not the Church. The difference between St. Thomas and the Catechism is a matter of emphasis, but not a matter of principle.





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