Who Is A Murderer ?

Mr. Mark Shea's recent column, "Minimum Daily Requirement Christianity" ("National Catholic Register"; June 17-23, 2007) allowed that the Commandment is "Thou Shall Not Murder". But then, who is a murderer?

Certainly, the agent of the state who executes a condemned criminal is not a murderer--If St. Paul is to be believed in this matter. The soldier who kills in accordance with military orders and under established rules of war and discipline is not a murderer---Else it is likely that St. John the Baptist would have told his military questioners to quit their profession rather than execute their duties without abusing the People AND the Christ would have condemned the Centurion rather than otherwise.

The use of deadly force by such persons is NOT subject to any time driven "evolving standards of morality" as some would have us believe but are well grounded in the Scriptures and Natural Law.

Likewise, the man who places his life between that of criminals and the innocents of his family and community, as a police officer or other citizen, is free of guilt if he is forced to kill to protect such presumed innocents. This is also a matter of Natural Law (Which allows such defenses, use of deadly force and such means as modern weapons to enforce such rights).

In fact, the only teacher (Doctor) of the Church (St. Bernard of Clairvaux) who addressed the use of deadly force against the pagans (ie Muslims) was very clear that the proper use such force was that defending Christ and his Church and not, if done in a proper mind, that which would bring fault to the killer, but rather Divine praise.

But, is the able man who walks by the victim of the crime, as criminals kill him and without making a life saving effort, as morally wrong as the Priest and Levite who passed by the man in the ditch (For fear of loss of ritual purity?), who was later rescued by the Good Samaritan? Is such a by-passer also a murderer? Is the Soldier or other agent of the state who refuses to inflict nominal, non-life threatening or crippling, pain on a terrorist to obtain information which would save innocent lives also at fault and, allowing that such reluctance costs lives, a murderer?

Oh yes--I do not ask easy questions.