Can you consider yourself Catholic if your job involves killing?

[mdgspencer]

The same question could be asked about soldiers. However, the Church has never said that it is a sin to be a soldier.
Some of these remarks are rather ridiculous.

 

[wabrams]

A shot to an elbow or knee prevents a person from either running or shooting back, and the wounds are never life threatening.

Shoot someone in the leg and hit their femoral artery; they bleed out and die pretty quickly.

 

[wcknight]

I’m overjoyed that there are folks who are willing to serve mankind in law enforcement and in the military, and I pray for the safety of all of you. May your guardian angels ever be watchful and protect as you protect the rest of us.

Of course it is okay to be Catholic and be in your professions. Jesus says, “Blessed are the peace makers because you shall be called the children of God.” Other than the clergy I can think of no more noble profession than to be in law enforcement. You are the last line of defense between the bad guys/ nutcases and the rest of us.

Your bravery lets the rest of us sleep easy. May God bless you all !!!

 

[Black_Jaque]

Its just as easy to aim for legs as it is to aim for the heart

You obviously know very little about shooting? You have some experience with a long bow, but apparently not enough to learn that bigger bullseyes are easier to hit than smaller ones.

Around here kids grow up throwing snowballs and shooting rubber bands at each other. It’s harmless and great fun. But you learn some lessons that are elementary. A person who quickly takes cover is, by definition, NOT giving you time to aim.

Center-mass shots are intended to incapacitate the aggressor quickly. And if you’re using enough gun, you will do so with one shot, most of the time. If you shoot their right elbow, you won’t incapacitate them until you shoot their left elbow.

Plus the center-mass philosophy quite possibly saves more lives than the Lone Ranger hand shooting fantasy. Under duress, a man is more hesitant to take an action he knows will be fatal. If that same man is deluded into thinking that he’ll only injure them, he may be more likely to choose to pull the trigger. And this could result in more accidental deaths.

I believe most police departments found that it is best if you just don’t pull the trigger EVER unless you fully intend to kill the target.

 

[Black_Jaque]

In this country the police are unarmed, … And the bad guys in this place make american criminals look like wimps…

Hmmm. You live in a country where guns are illegal, even for cops. And in that same country you say your bad guys are worse than ours.

We live in a country where the good guys can carry guns…and our criminals are whimps.

If all else is equal, which would you choose? A country with whimpy bad guys and armed good guys? Or a country with strong bad guys and unarmed good guys?

…but then you think that shooting a hand is easier than shooting center mass.

 

[Jay2]

In the US, in nearly any metro area the cops are usually out-gunned…
The cops have rules - protect the innocent, then yourself, all within the confines of laws. The bad guys don’t - they’ll shoot anything in their way - they have no rules.

Most of my cop buddies (on the streets) are carrying Glocks now. Some of the law-enforcement versions are select-fire… single shot or a 3-pop. This is to protect themselves against bad guys that could be carrying full-auto stuff!

Law enforcement or military personnel are taught to neutralize the target when this level of force or defense is warranted, not disable or slow them down.
(A perp on the ground with a messed up arm/leg can still pull a knife, kick, bite, whatever… A perp with a 2" hole in their chest isn’t gonna do anything but bleed…neutralized.)

“I Leatherman”… I’d suggest you go to a range, and just try firing a large caliber handgun… I’ll wager you might hit the target somewhere ONCE in 10 rounds the 1st time out. After about 500 rounds you may be able to nail a few 8’s, 9’s, and the occasional “X”… Now imagine there’s someone shooting at you, that has NOTHING to lose…! Are you going to concentrate, get set, and go for that “X ring kneecap Television” shot , or just aim & HIT the biggest target?

I’m also a darn good shot with a bow - but I don’t have people shooting arrows back at me while I’m doing it!

Pull a gun & fire on a cop and you will probably die. End of story.

Police officers are the most un-appreciated public servants. They put their lives on the line every single day for us. Blessed are the peace-makers.

Can you be a Catholic if your job involves killing? No.
Can you be a Catholic if your job may require using lethal force to defend yourself or protect the innocent… Yes.

 

[Leeta]

It is a matter of justice to protect the innocent and use lethal force if necessary. The Church has military chaplains attached to the military. If it weren’t an honorable Christian profession, there would not be any chaplains. As a Catholic, I’ve really come to appreciate these professions.

Pacifism is too unchartitable towards the innnocent who are attacked. My Dad, a protestant held to this out of Bblical (fundamentalist) interpretations. There were three generations in my family who held to this and were conscientious objectors in all the wars of the 20th century.

The Christian knights helped keep the Turks out of Europe, etc. September 12 commemorates the victory over the Turks at Vienna. There has been a long history of Christian soldiers.

So what does my son do, but go and join the Marines Corps! He wanted to do something dangerous. Oh, well.

He must follow the Geneva Convention and also has to have orders before he shoots at anyone. So far, he hasn’t shot at anyone, since he has been in Iraq since July, even though he manns a 50 caliber machine gun on a rescue helicopter.

If your profession is to abort babies or perform terminal experiments on embryo babies, then you can’t be a Catholic in a state of grace. You won’t find any chaplains attached to the abortuary killing centers! Maybe out front praying for them and trying to talk women out of abortions or abortionists into quitting.