Murder, Justice, Charity and Mercy
The recent killing of the United Healthcare CEO in New York City – shot in the back by a man lying in wait – should rattle us. That sort of thing is not what we should expect on the streets of cities in civil society. But what has been especially troubling is the response from so many in the United States who rationalize it, or worse, celebrate it, as some sort of commutative justice. Some long-time and dear friends of mine are now on the list of those who express sentiments like “he had it coming”. That leaves me to ponder, what if everyone got what they had coming?
I have heard pundits saying that this CEO was not only responsible for denying coverage for health care procedures, but that he “murdered” or was responsible for the murder of millions of people by denying those claims. That is a harsh judgement. I do not know this man, but I do know enough about the health care industry in the United States to report that his role as CEO of that company could never come close to murder. You shall not kill, as the 5th commandment, is very clear. More cleanly, you shall not murder.
As a more precise definition, murder is the unlawful and direct killing of an innocent human being. While he led an organization that was focused on paying for healthcare, and as such was very probably responsible for establishing policies that would have led to delays or denials of coverages for certain procedures, that some people with those plans may have died is not murder. Death is coming for all of us at some point, and no system of healthcare – no matter how well it pays for or covers procedures – will undo our eventual and guaranteed demise.
What is murder is what appears to have been done to him. His assassin seems to have had a well-laid plan to surprise this man intentionally and shoot him down in the street. He appears to have been personally targeted, his schedule and plans tracked, and from all the media reports I have seen the assassin wrote it all out in a manifesto. Since his arrest he comes across as seeming as if he is utterly justified in his own mind in what he did. And again, what is awful to see, is that he is joined by many in this notion that the CEO got what he had coming.
So, to my earlier pondering, what if everyone got what they had coming? Justice, as one of the four cardinal virtues, ought to preserve us from harm. Cultivated properly, it should lead us to give others what they are due, and not expect more or less than that for ourselves. For now, I will concede the speculation that this assassin had a procedure that left him in pain, and maybe it was not well paid for. Is it the same as being shot to death? No, being shot to death is not the same, and it is not justice. It is vengeance, and in this case seems to be murder.
How does charity fit here? I say that charity ought to be that virtue which informs justice, and that moves us to justice. Charity, caritas, is true love, willing the good of the other. What seems to be lacking in many societies today is such real love, and therefore real charity. Charity does not mean government enforced socialism, it means freely gifting from one’s own bounty that which will serve another. We should strive to establish systems which will allow for the maximal leverage of charity in serving our fellow man.
Finally, mercy. God help me if I got what I had coming to me. And we each need to say that, because every human person has sinned and done things to injure other people and to harm their relationship with God and their neighbors. I am ever thankful and grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for me, and for the knowledge that by participating in His redemptive and restorative grace, I am able to look forward to an eternity with Him. It is that connection to divine mercy, through divine grace, that we need to cultivate in our own hearts, homes, churches, and towns.
We now face the fruits of years of jealousy, selfishness, pride, reparations and revenge being taught in the public sphere. The only real counter to it is Jesus’ mercy and grace. May we all gain access to it, and let it spill out to everyone we meet.
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→
First Holy Communion: Sermon from May 16, 1943
Here is a sermon from the good old days by +Rev. Msgr. Vincent Nicholas Foy (August 14, 1915 – March 13, 2017), from 1943. Readers may recall that Pope Saint Pius X, by the decree Quam Singulari in 1910, lowered the customary age of reception of Holy Communion – after the rigours of the plague[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]Continue reading→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→
Europe’s Long Descent
(As we meditate on this day on Christ’s burial, and His descent into hell, it is fitting to ponder here with contributor Peter Marcus how the world seems to be heading there as well. The difference is that, although God cannot ‘redeem’ hell, nor those therein, He can and did redeem the world. There is[…]Continue reading→