VATICAN - Pope: "firm condemnation" for "all forms of torture", solidarity for victims, efforts to abolish it [AN]

  • Thread starter Thread starter Catholic_Press
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Catholic_Press

Guest
At the Angelus, recalling that Corpus Christi is being celebrated in many countries today, Francis said that participation in the Eucharist “transforms” and “make us able to love even those who don’t love us, to oppose evil with good, to forgive, to share, to welcome”.

More…
 
Catholic_Press said:
At the Angelus, recalling that Corpus Christi is being celebrated in many countries today, Francis said that participation in the Eucharist “transforms” and “make us able to love even those who don’t love us, to oppose evil with good, to forgive, to share, to welcome”.

More…
Click to expand...
I agree that all forms of torture should be condemned. The problem comes in when people disagree on what constitutes torture. For example, waterboarding is torture according to most definitions that I see, but there are those who say that no, waterboarding is not torture, it is an enhanced interrogation technique. But if the Pope has condemned all forms of torture, wouldn’t that include waterboarding also? It would help if the Vatican spelled out exactly those enhanced interrogation techniques that qualify as torture.
Also, as a secondary observation, this papal condemnation of torture seems to be a radical change in the teaching of the Catholic Church. As I understand it, Pope Innocent IV approved of the use of torture under certain limited and restricted conditions, to extract confessions from those suspected of heresy. There was a papal bull that is often quoted in this regard: Ad extirpandum. The green (New) Catholic encyclopedia has an article on this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top