Would any of those here who are either Christians or death penalty opponents care to support the following?
A Catholic priest who has exchanged
letters and met with Timothy McVeigh (news - web sites) urged his
parishioners Sunday to forgive - but not forget - the Oklahoma City
bomber's deadly act.
``Our God, through Jesus, asks us to embrace Timothy McVeigh. Not
with judgment, leave that to God. Not with execution, our church is
against that. But to embrace him with love, with compassion, with a desire
to understand him,'' the Rev. Ron Ashmore said at St. Margaret Mary
Catholic Church.
``Trust me - in that way, God changes us,'' Ashmore said during a
morning service at the stone church, which is allowing death penalty
opponents to stage vigils there.
Some parishioners said they took Ashmore's words to heart.
``What I don't like to see, and I see so much, is people wanting
vengeance, and I hope their hearts can be changed,'' Kay Brentlinger
said.
While Sunday's service was not structured around McVeigh's Monday
execution, Ashmore referred to him and the 168 victims of the 1995
bombing several times. The church program also contained a list of all the
victims, along with quotes from death penalty opponents.
Afterward, Ashmore, who has talked with McVeigh at the prison just a
couple of miles away, said he believed McVeigh was at peace.
``Personally, I believe Tim will be in heaven, with - as strange as it may
seem - all of those people who died by his violent act, a horrible act, an
act of darkness and what we would call sinful,'' Ashmore said. ``But God
doesn't judge us by the worst action of our life, but judges us by the
movement of our heart toward him.'' |
