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{"id":1066,"date":"2007-09-12T13:29:27","date_gmt":"2007-09-12T13:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2007\/09\/12\/more-on-the-popes-statement-to-prison-ministers\/"},"modified":"2007-09-12T13:29:27","modified_gmt":"2007-09-12T13:29:27","slug":"more-on-the-popes-statement-to-prison-ministers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2007\/09\/12\/more-on-the-popes-statement-to-prison-ministers\/","title":{"rendered":"More on the Pope’s statement to prison ministers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Regarding Morning\u2019s Minion\u2019s recent post <\/a>on the Pope\u2019s address to prison ministers (H ere<\/a>, thanks to ZENIT, is the address): In my view, the key passage quoted by MM should not be understood as rejecting desert-based or retributive theories of punishment. That is, nothing in this passage suggests that \u201cretribution\u201d, and not \u201ca desire to rehabilitate\u201d or \u201cpossible pro-social consequences\u201d is not what justifies<\/em> the state in imposing \u201cpunishment\u201d on offenders. This passage speaks to the structuring <\/em>of punishment, not its justification; it speaks to some <\/em>of the end-results we should want our punishments to achieve (rehabilitation, restoration, etc.), but it does not deny the traditional Catholic position that the primary purpose of just punishment is retribution, properly understood (i.e., understood not as \u201cvengeance.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Now, Morning\u2019s Minion has a different take<\/a> on the address. But, I think it is a mistake to read this passage as saying that \u201cdefense against the criminal\u201d, not retribution, is one of the two \u201ckey functions\u201d of the penal system. Given the Church\u2019s longstanding teachings regarding punishment, the Pope\u2019s mention of \u201csafeguarding the common good\u201d would seem best read as embodying the idea that the \u201ccommon good\u201d is served when the order disturbed by the offense is restored, i.e., by retribution, properly understood.<\/p>\n

Retributive punishment theory is not about vengeance. It is, in my view, about (a) protecting defendants from the state by demanding that only morally deserved punishments be imposed and (b) communicating through the criminal-justice system correct moral statements about offenses and victims\u2019 dignity.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"