Forgiveness and The Law - New Evangelizers

Very recently, the wife of a famous murder victim very publicly forgave the man who killed her husband.

The reaction to this has be wide and varied. Some expressed admiration. Others were incredulous. And still others were humbled.

But the reaction that has most fascinated me is one of anger. People angry at the injustice of the murder found this act of forgiveness to be outrageous. I have seen more than one comment say that this kind of softness only invites more violence. I’ve seen comments to the effect of “If we forgive all the criminals, shouldn’t we just empty out the prisons? That seems socially suicidal!”

So how is a Christian to respond to something as awful as murder? And what effect does this have on the criminal justice system?

I must give great credit to Professor Edward Fesser for addressing this controversy and bringing up its most salient points.

First, we must always go back to the teachings of the Master. Christ said “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44). There is a strong temptation in the modern world to turn Christ’s words into a bland platitude, a hyperbolic ideal. But that does not do justice to what He taught.

He really meant it. We must love our enemies. That includes the murderers. How do we know that He was serious about this? Because that is what He did. On the cross He cried out “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Luke 23:24. Even at the point of death, Jesus forgave His murderers.

You can see this also in his earliest followers. Stephen, the first martyr, echoes Jesus words of forgiveness as he was stoned to death. Paul says in Romans “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

So should we let criminals go?

That would not be a requirement. There is a difference between the forgiveness that a Christian offers and the saftey of the public. Just as the Church has taught for centuries that civil authorities have the right to use violence in their military and police forces to protect the innocent, so too do those civil authorities have the right to incarcerate for the common good. As Fesser points out, the civil authorities have a responsibility to punish the evil doers. To not do so would be to fail the common good. But he also points out that our internal dispositions as we punish must be examined. He goes on to point to this extended passage from St. Thomas Aquinas:

Vengeance consists in the infliction of a penal evil on one who has sinned. Accordingly, in the matter of vengeance, we must consider the mind of the avenger. For if his intention is directed chiefly to the evil of the person on whom he takes vengeance and rests there, then his vengeance is altogether unlawful: because to take pleasure in another’s evil belongs to hatred, which is contrary to the charity whereby we are bound to love all men. Nor is it an excuse that he intends the evil of one who has unjustly inflicted evil on him, as neither is a man excused for hating one that hates him: for a man may not sin against another just because the latter has already sinned against him, since this is to be overcome by evil, which was forbidden by the Apostle, who says (Romans 12:21): “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.”

If, however, the avenger’s intention be directed chiefly to some good, to be obtained by means of the punishment of the person who has sinned (for instance that the sinner may amend, or at least that he may be restrained and others be not disturbed, that justice may be upheld, and God honored), then vengeance may be lawful, provided other due circumstances be observed. Summa Theologiae II.II.108.1

In other words, St. Thomas is saying that while punishment should happen for justice, our intentions are still liable to the judgments of God, even if the punishment is just.

Let’s take a look at this on a much smaller level. As a teacher, I sometimes have to administer discipline to students who are behaving disrespectfully. And while it may be just and ultimately in the student’s best interest to have this discipline, I always examine my conscience after such an incident. I am not beyond petty vengeance and wounded pride. I take a moment to see if I have taken delight in the action, not because the student will benefit but because I take satisfaction at their punishment. If it is the latter, rather than the former, then I have incurred sin on myself, even if the punishment was just.

Going back to the example from the beginning of this article, the widow understands that while her husband’s murderer will receive his punishment, she is letting Christ extinguish wrath from her heart. They asked her if she wanted the death penalty for her husband’s killer, but she said that she wanted to leave that to those in authority. She wanted to follow the forgiving example of Christ in her heart.

It is the same thing that Pope St. John Paul II did when he met and embraced his would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca. The pope did not call for his release, but he offered him the forgiveness that can only come from Christ: a forgiveness that can transform. Agca would later go on to say he had converted to Christianity. Though Agca tried to take John Paul II’s life, the pope wanted to save Agca’s soul.

It should therefore be clear that every Christians has a moral duty to be forgiving of others. This teaching is not easy. In many ways, it may be the most difficult to live out in this world of darkness and violence. If someone harmed my wife, I do not know how I could be forgiving, except by the grace of God.

And maybe that is the point.

Copyright 2025, WL Grayson

W.L. Grayson

I am a devoutly Catholic theology teacher who loves a popular culture that often, quite frankly, hates me. I grew up absorbing every movie, TV show, comic book, science fiction novel, etc. I could find. As of today I’ve watched over 2100 movies and tv shows. They take up a huge part of my life. I don’t know that this is a good thing, but it has given me a common vocabulary to draw from in order to illustrate whatever theological point I make in class. I’ve used American Pie the song to explain the Book of Revelation (I’ll post on this some time later) and American Pie the movie to help explain Eucharist (don’t ask). The point is that the popular culture is popular for a reason. It is woven into the fabric of our lives and imaginations, for good or ill. In this blog I will attempt to bring together the things of heaven with the things of earth. Of course this goal may be too lofty for someone like me.