Eye for an eye will not rid Mexico of violence, cardinal warns

Mexico City, Mexico, Sep 16, 2008 / 11:21 am

The Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera said in his homily on Sunday that the law of “an eye for an eye is not the way” to solve the problem of violence in the country, and called on Mexicans to embrace “forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation” in order to confront the current complicated situation.

 

After learning of the discovery of 24 bodies outside Mexico City, the cardinal recalled that “beyond vengeance lies forgiveness and compassion,” and that the law of an eye for an eye would not be a solution because “violence begets more violence.”  Instead, the cardinal proposed “forgiveness and mercy” to help man overcome his “legalistic and justice-only” tendencies.

 

“Some propose killing those who kill others,” Cardinal Rivera said, noting that vengeance always “leads to more vengeance, and if anyone thinks that forgiving is a virtue of the weak, let him see which is more difficult: taking vengeance or forgiving.”

 

“An insult, a calumny, an annoyance, physical harm, having one’s material goods destroyed, is not resolved by doing the same to another,” he continued.

 

On the other hand, he clarified, “to forgive does not mean to accept evil or to stop fighting against injustice and impunity.”  The baptized have an even greater commitment to the promotion of forgiveness and mercy, the cardinal stressed.  “Not even justice, as important as it is, is enough to reestablish the social fabric.  An evil is not redressed by doing the same to another.  Beyond vengeance is forgiveness and compassion,” he reiterated.