In the City of Brotherly Love, the pope, on Sunday, told the incarcerated that 'any society "which cannot share or take seriously the pain of its children ... is a society 'condemned' to remain a hostage to itself, prey to the very things which cause that pain." "Francis, speaking at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, called for rehabilitation "which benefits and elevates the morale of the entire community" and said Jesus' "asks us to create new opportunities: for inmates, for their families, for correctional authorities, and for society as a whole."' Nine of the inmates who met with Pope Francis have been charged with murder, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Fifteen are facing rape charges, five have been charged with robbery, 12 with assault, 18 with alleged drug offenses and six with prostitution charges, according to the paper. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pope-francis-prison-philadelphia_560744d4e4b0af3706dc95a6 I'm flabbergasted. What about the victims? Do they have any rights, or anyone batting for them? Did the pope visit with the family members of the murdered, or rape victims? What about their pain?
True Patriot Logic: If you like the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", you must hate rape victims. Those black folks who forgave that young white patriot for murdering all those people in the Charleston church must hate Christians. And other black people.
Pope Francis is an optimist, he believes that if people are treated humanely and given a chance to turn their lives around that will ensure fewer victims. Punitive incarceration is about revenge, which is a sin. Vengeance is MINE, saith the Lord. Remember?
True Patriot : Would you like chocolate, strawberry or vanilla, sir? Normal Person : Chocolate, please. True Patriot : WHY DO YOU HATE VANILLA!?!?
Punitive incarceration is also supposed to be about keeping society safe from rapists and murderers; and to give comfort to the victims and their families. Knowing that the perpetrator will not get the chance for a long time to murder or rape again is comforting. It is not vengeance to incarcerate someone who murdered or raped someone. The Bible also says, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Your interpretation of New Testament scripture is obviously of a passive thread. Passivity only works when everyone is passive. If there are non-passives, the passives will be trampled by the non-passives. New Age Christians crack me up. You assume that mankind is humane in the first place. Big mistake.
True Patriot: Black holes suck the life out of the universe. Normal person: Black holes are metaphors for black people. True Patriot: No, there really are black holes that suck the life out of everything around them. Normal Person: That's racist. That actually happened.
Incarceration, punitive or not, is what keeps people safe from criminals. I honestly don't know the answer. I've seen criminals who seem completely unwilling to change and maybe rehabilitation is a complete waste of time on most of them. But I can't see anything wrong with someone like the Pope saying we shouldn't give up. I was not commenting that our system is completely wrong. I was commenting that the Pope is not pro-crime just because he thinks it would be better to attempt rehabilitation rather than endlessly ramping up punishments.
The Pope also told us to accept and care for all the illegal immigrants storming into our country and into Europe. Why doesn't he go to the countries the people are running from and ask the people running those countries to treat their citizens well enough that they won't want to leave. Where was the Pope when the Jews were rounded up and slaughtered in WW2? Where was the Pope when 9-11 happened to us? Where was the Pope when innocents were being beheaded and video taped? Why didn't the Pope go to the southside of Chicago and tell the blacks to stop having babies out of wedlock and also stop shooting each other? All Pope Francis did was take a victory lap. It probably helped him feel good but accomplished nothing.
Since that is the way you saw it, for you it was what was accomplished. Pope Francis spoke of love, forgiveness, acceptance of responsibility for oneself and others less able, the stewardship of the planet, the need to share wealth with those less fortunate, global responsibility, and a overwhelming sense of acceptance of others regardless of religion, nation, ability and so on. From you I see a different set of values. I prefer those of the Pope. I am atheist, so his religious message does not appeal, except the golden rule. How would you have others do onto you
What did you want the Pope to say about the victims? They have rights, they suffered, etc. We already know this.
You really do not understand the teachings of Christ do you, learn more, practice it more and then get back to us.
Don't you find it a little sad that you are forced to simply copy my post to answer me? Surely there is some - even a teensy weensy bit - of originality or imagination in the swamp. Having said that however, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Gracias.
