Over at the Catholic Thing, Fr. C. John McCloskey offers his rebuttal of the joint editorial calling for the abolition of the death penalty. Father offers a novel defense of the death penalty, writing:
Indeed, for any son or daughter of God, it is a great grace to know the time of one’s death, as it gives us the opportunity to get right with the Lord who will judge us at our death. Perhaps many people have been saved in this way by the death penalty. Who knows what would have happened if they had been allowed to linger in this life, one day possibly killing other people?
Call me silly, but I think that is insane and I regret that I encountered such insanity on the vigil of the Feast of St. Joseph, patron of a happy death.
Lady Mary is leaving Downton Abbey, I mean Cong. Schock is leaving Congress: Politico has the story.
Michael Paulson, at the NYTimes, on Jeb Bush's faith. I am not sure I would use a phrase like "absolute nature" to describe our faith, but I do not doubt Mr. Bush is a sincere Catholic. Of course, I wish he and any other politician would stop discussing the effects of their faith, e.g., "It gives me a serenity, and allows me to think clearer," Mr Bush said. Whether he is serene or not, whether he is thinking clearly or not, are the claims of our faith true? That is the heart of the matter, regardless of the effects, no? But, this fault is a bipartisan fault: No politician wants to admit to truth claims these days.
