I expect that the Catholic Review will have an editorial and articles denouncing guns following the tragedy in Connecticut. Will someone mention the 22 children slashed with a knife in China on the same day? The Chinese attacker did not use the Roman Army’s skill set for inflicting death with a blade as documented in John 19:34, which saved those victims.
Address evil in individuals, a subject where the Catholic Review should have competence. A tirade on the danger of a specific class of amoral, inanimate objects will not address the perpetrator’s moral responsibility; society’s responsibility to control unjust aggressors; and our personal responsibility to treat all crime victims as other selves. As stated in Article 2264 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality.” This includes the right to self-defense against an unjust aggressor.
Do those who pass off big government programs as social justice really love their neighbors or themselves by providing the conditions that allow individuals to obtain their due, like life and liberty? Attacking the unarmed is the ultimate bullying, because the victims cannot defend themselves. Disarming the innocent is not social justice or solidarity.
John Meinhardt
Severn