Justice - A Thought

This past week Pope Benedict XVI made an emotional visit to Rome’s main prison.  The Pontiff – the spiritual head of the one billion member Roman Catholic Church – used his visit to call attention to the plight of the incarcerated.

“Inmates are human beings who, despite their crimes, deserve to be treated with respect and dignity…They need our concern.”

The Pope urged the government to “overhaul the system so that prisoners are not subjected to a ‘double punishment’ by serving time in insufferable conditions”.  And, in an even more eye-popping statement, he said justice is not just about righting a wrong, but also showing mercy.

“For God…there’s no just action that isn’t also an act of mercy and forgiveness, and at the same time there’s no merciful action that isn’t perfectly just.”

Pope Benedict called on the Italian government to ease prison overcrowding and have alternatives to detention.  The Cabinet followed with a sweeping prison reform measure that will release thousands of low custody offenders.

Where, I wonder, are the moral voices in this state and this country – a nation, ironically, who professes to be overwhelmingly Christian and yet misses the crucial tenets of the Savior’s message?

Prior to his death, Apple founder Steve Jobs explained his difficulty with Christians.  “Too many Christians”, he said, “don’t want to live like Christ”.  I’ve pondered that thought for months.  What, I wonder; would Jesus say about the men in here?  What would Jesus say about our society’s “lock em up and throw away the key” attitude?

It was Jesus who was imprisoned and condemned to death for healing the sick and lame, and spreading a message of mercy, grace and salvation.  I’ve discovered during these three and a half years that while society may condemn felons the Lord opens His arms to us.  There is a reason that prophets and psalmists and apostles stated over and over “He comes to set the prisoners free”. 

As the New Year begins I pray the leaders of the Commonwealth of Virginia and this Nation take the words set forth by Pope Benedict to heart.  Justice, without mercy, is not just.  Virginia’s prison system, America’s prison system, is inhuman and unChristlike.  It is time for a new way of thinking.  It is time to set many of us free.