Still struggling

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MtnMan

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Hey all I’m still trying to discern my future vocation and what I’ll end up doing in life. I really feel like being a policeman is what I want to do and I think that I could be a good one given the training and time to mature some more.

I know what the Church teaches on the morality of things accompanying police work such as lethal force and all of those things. I’ve tried doing more research and the overwhelming majority of online sources have a pacifist viewpoint. I guess one thing my research has taught me is that Christians are forever going to be divided on these issues, so how do we know the Church’s view is the correct one?

Alot of these pacifist articles give off a ‘holier than thou’ attitude because they see pacifism as going above other Christians that advocate self defense and lethal force etc. It just makes me feel very unsettled and sad inside because I feel like they could be right:( Its hard to describe, I’ve never been so divided on something in my whole life (I’m only 20 but hey). All of these articles and views etc show Scripture verses and such that point towards Jesus teaching non violence etc- I know that Scripture can be interpreted many different ways but the most straightforward interpretations usually seem to give off nonviolence.

They also claim that the early Christians and Church leaders were all pacifist and that the Church was corrupted when Christianity became legal under Constantine. A big point they brought up was that if Jesus did advocate self defense when it was justifiable why didnt the Apostles ever use it after He left them after the Ascension?

Maybe that line of work isnt right for me, or maybe my conscience would bother me too much.

Thanks for any suggestions/ responses
 
MtnMan said:
Hey all I’m still trying to discern my future vocation and what I’ll end up doing in life. I really feel like being a policeman is what I want to do and I think that I could be a good one given the training and time to mature some more.

I know what the Church teaches on the morality of things accompanying police work such as lethal force and all of those things. I’ve tried doing more research and the overwhelming majority of online sources have a pacifist viewpoint. I guess one thing my research has taught me is that Christians are forever going to be divided on these issues, so how do we know the Church’s view is the correct one?

Alot of these pacifist articles give off a ‘holier than thou’ attitude because they see pacifism as going above other Christians that advocate self defense and lethal force etc. It just makes me feel very unsettled and sad inside because I feel like they could be right:( Its hard to describe, I’ve never been so divided on something in my whole life (I’m only 20 but hey). All of these articles and views etc show Scripture verses and such that point towards Jesus teaching non violence etc- I know that Scripture can be interpreted many different ways but the most straightforward interpretations usually seem to give off nonviolence.

They also claim that the early Christians and Church leaders were all pacifist and that the Church was corrupted when Christianity became legal under Constantine. A big point they brought up was that if Jesus did advocate self defense when it was justifiable why didnt the Apostles ever use it after He left them after the Ascension?

Maybe that line of work isnt right for me, or maybe my conscience would bother me too much.

Thanks for any suggestions/ responses
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Please don’t think that just because your Catholic you can’t be a police officer. There are many officers who are Catholic. It doesn’t matter what the “general consensus” is. Refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and see what that says. That is then what you should believe.

I’m 21 and studying Criminal Justice. I used to want to be a police officer, but feel I’m being pulled to other areas of the system. I’m not sure yet where I’ll end up, but I do know that the CJ is where I want to be.
 
St. Michael the Archangel
is the patron saint of police officers.
🙂
 
Christians may personally be divided on this topic. The Church isn’t divided.
 
MtnMan, it looks to me like you’re getting all tied up in knots by reading stuff that’s not even Catholic. But, I am wondering if you’ve somehow gotten yourself into a psychologically sticky situation. For instance, maybe you told your friends or family that you want to be LE (law enforcement). but now that you’ve been thinking about it, it seems scary or boring or less interesting. but you don’t want to “back down” from what you told ppl without some other, “higher” reason, like you don’t think the Catholic Church would like it.

There are plenty of LEOs who are Catholic and good, strong, traditional Catholics at that, so don’t let that stop you.

But I would suggest, strongly and adamantly, that you contact your local PD or SO or Highway Patrol and ask about their Ride Along program. You want to ride around for a full shift with an officer. You will want to request one of the shifts that covers the 10 pm to 2 am time period. (many departments now have 2 overlapping shifts that cover this hot time)
 
Michelle

I think you re right too, I guess Im just frustrated because this is the first really big moral question I’ve had to answer for myself. I’ve known for quite a while that a normal 9-5 desk job (no offense is meant to anyone) just isn’t going to cut it for me- I want to be out trying to help people and try to make a real difference in people’s lives. I just have lingering doubts about using force and the possibility of taking a life. I’ve read over the CCC for these things and it all makes sense, but where is some definite Scripture supporting it. I’ve read so many passages and they all can be interpreted in different ways, and again the pacifist ones seem to be the easiest way to interpret them.

I guess the biggest thing is Im afraid of Judgement when I die. I feel like God will judge me for somethings I may have to do, especially using lethal force, even if its justified. I guess im just afraid for my soul.

Il continue to pray/think on all this. thanks!
 
You might want to explore other careers that would allow you to be out on the street and helping others. off the top of my head, i can think of social workers who work with the homeless and mentally ill, different jobs with Catholic Charities, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, group homes for teenagers, probation officer, corrections officer…

see, there are plenty of other jobs that would fulfill your desire without forcing you to decide how you feel about lethal force, even LE jobs. 🙂

of course, you could always go to law school and become a prosecutor. 🙂
 
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