By Mary DeTurris Poust
UPDATED: Teresa Lewis was executed by lethal injection at 9:13 p.m. ET tonight at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.
Teresa Lewis, 41, a convicted killer who some say has an IQ that classifies her as "borderline mentally retarded,"will become the first woman to be executed by the state of Virginia in almost a century if the lethal injection that is scheduled for 9 p.m. tonight ET goes ahead as planned.
Lewis was sentenced to death for planning the 2002 killings of her husband and stepson. The two men who carried out the killings were not sentenced to death but to life without parole.
For Catholics, the Lewis execution presents a tough but clear challenge: We are called to oppose it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells that out quite clearly. Of course, the Gospel teachings of Jesus spelled it out first -- and without question. I'm not saying this is an easy teaching to swallow, but do we -- when we say that we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death -- mean it?
When I wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Catholic Catechism, this is how I described the sometimes-difficult-to-follow teaching on the death penalty:
Thanks to Danielle Bean and the Deacon's Bench for posting on this issue earlier this week. Your thoughtful comments, of course, are welcome here.
Lewis was sentenced to death for planning the 2002 killings of her husband and stepson. The two men who carried out the killings were not sentenced to death but to life without parole.
For Catholics, the Lewis execution presents a tough but clear challenge: We are called to oppose it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells that out quite clearly. Of course, the Gospel teachings of Jesus spelled it out first -- and without question. I'm not saying this is an easy teaching to swallow, but do we -- when we say that we believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death -- mean it?
When I wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Catholic Catechism, this is how I described the sometimes-difficult-to-follow teaching on the death penalty:
"The death penalty is not completely out of bounds, according to Church teaching. However, its use is severely limited. The death penalty is to be used when it is the only way to defend people from a particular aggressor. If "nonlethal means" are available and sufficient to protect people's safety, then authorities should avoid use of the death penalty in keeping with the 'dignity of the human person.' (CCC 2267)So the question for us as Catholics today is this: Is it possible for the government to protect us from Teresa Lewis through "nonlethal means?" If the answer to that question is yes, then, as difficult as it may be to defend a killer, our Gospel call is to do just that. Life is life, no matter where it falls on the spectrum.
"Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life) said that in the modern age, instances when the state is unable to protect the public through nonlethal means 'are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.'"
Thanks to Danielle Bean and the Deacon's Bench for posting on this issue earlier this week. Your thoughtful comments, of course, are welcome here.
