2 articles which might help to form some views of justice & mercy: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_eth_mercyjustice.htm http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/justice.html
Mercy must honor justice. It can be dispensed rightly only when the validity of justice is acknowledged. Similarly, forgiveness can be granted only when a transgression is acknowledged.
Mercy “does not destroy justice,” as Aquinas noted, “but is a certain kind of fulfillment of justice.” “Mercy without justice, he added, “is the mother of dissolution.”
Mercy lacks the heroic quality associated with virtues such as courage and determination. It does not possess the primacy enjoyed by reverence and humility. Nor does it have the independent character of generosity and integrity. It is a complementary virtue, one that is destined to share the spotlight with a more fundamental good.
The nineteenth-century American clergyman Edwin Hubbell Chapin expressed it most eloquently when he wrote, “Mercy among the virtues is like the moon among the stars—not so sparkling and vivid as many, but dispensing a calm radiance that hallows the whole. It is the bow that rests upon the bosom of the cloud when the storm is past. It is the light that hovers above the judgment-seat.”
Donald DeMarco is professor emeritus of philosophy at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario. He also teaches at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, and continues to work as a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
His book Architects of the Culture of Death was released in April of 2004. He is also the author of The Many Faces of Virtue, which is a collection of favorite Lay Witness columns.
To order The Many Faces of Virtue, visit Emmaus Road Publishing online at www.emmausroad.org.
Originally, O.J. Simpson was best known for his feats on the football field, which earned him a Heisman Trophy for his college athletic achievements at the University of Southern California and a stellar career in the National Football League.
Today, Mr. Simpson is at least as well known for his part in a criminal trial that rocked a nation. After leading police in a car chase through Los Angeles area freeways, watched on live television by a transfixed national audience, Mr. Simpson was arrested and charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. The trial, which ignited a national debate over race, fame and how both of them corrupt the legal system, resulted in Mr. Simpson's acquittal. In 1997, Mr. Simpson was found liable for the deaths in a civil case and ordered to pay the Goldman family $38 million and Ms. Simpson's family $24 million.
Transitional Justice is the overall modern concept describing approaches through which societies may address massive human rights violations, mass atrocities, or other forms of severe trauma in order to restore peace and positive relations within the society. Transitional Justice is mostly applied at a point of political transition from authoritarian, dictatorial regimes to democracy or after war and civil conflict.
An example of transitional justice can be found in South Afica.
From 1948 to 1994, South Africa was under apartheid rule which means that the legal system prescribed racist segregation. The rights of especially the black majority were seriously curtailed e.g. they did not have the right to vote and they were stripped of their citizenship. Blacks were forced to live in so-called Homelands and in townships.
When, in 1994, apartheid was finally abolished, the new government of Nelson Mandela set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC had many prominent members, among them its chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a well-known opponent of apartheid and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize 1984. The TRC was a court-like body where witnesses and victims of human rights violation under the apartheid regime could give statement about their experiences in the period 21 March 1960 to 10 May 1994. In turn, perpetrators of abductions, killings, torture, and severe ill treatment could give testimony of their crimes and, by this, request amnesty from both civil and criminal persecution.
The commission was successful in revealing many human rights violations committed by the apartheid government, but also by the liberation forces including the (now ruling party) African National Congress (ANC), and other forces. On 28 October 1998 the Commission presented its final report, which condemned both sides for committing atrocities. Out of 7,112 petitioners a total of 5,392 people were refused and 849 were granted amnesty.
Because of the perceived success of the truth-finding approach, other countries installed similar institutions according to the South African model. Nevertheless, the TRC also got some criticism regarding its reconciliation goals.
Acts of Mercy (not sure if this is outdated information) http://www.cracked.com/article_19550_the-5-most-mind-blowing-acts-battlefield-mercy-in-history.html
2 articles which might help to form some views of justice & mercy:
ReplyDeletehttp://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_eth_mercyjustice.htm
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/justice.html
Mercy must honor justice. It can be dispensed rightly only when the validity of justice is acknowledged. Similarly, forgiveness can be granted only when a transgression is acknowledged.
ReplyDeleteMercy “does not destroy justice,” as Aquinas noted, “but is a certain kind of fulfillment of justice.” “Mercy without justice, he added, “is the mother of dissolution.”
Mercy lacks the heroic quality associated with virtues such as courage and determination. It does not possess the primacy enjoyed by reverence and humility. Nor does it have the independent character of generosity and integrity. It is a complementary virtue, one that is destined to share the spotlight with a more fundamental good.
The nineteenth-century American clergyman Edwin Hubbell Chapin expressed it most eloquently when he wrote, “Mercy among the virtues is like the moon among the stars—not so sparkling and vivid as many, but dispensing a calm radiance that hallows the whole. It is the bow that rests upon the bosom of the cloud when the storm is past. It is the light that hovers above the judgment-seat.”
Donald DeMarco is professor emeritus of philosophy at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ontario. He also teaches at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, and continues to work as a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
His book Architects of the Culture of Death was released in April of 2004. He is also the author of The Many Faces of Virtue, which is a collection of favorite Lay Witness columns.
To order The Many Faces of Virtue, visit Emmaus Road Publishing online at www.emmausroad.org.
article about injustice (trayvon's martin case):
ReplyDeletehttp://journalstar.com/news/local/trayvon-martin-case-spurs-lincoln-march-against-injustice/article_823a5bd2-9aac-5701-b03f-540f1c7d4e14.html
Example of injustice: OJ Simpson
ReplyDeleteOriginally, O.J. Simpson was best known for his feats on the football field, which earned him a Heisman Trophy for his college athletic achievements at the University of Southern California and a stellar career in the National Football League.
Today, Mr. Simpson is at least as well known for his part in a criminal trial that rocked a nation. After leading police in a car chase through Los Angeles area freeways, watched on live television by a transfixed national audience, Mr. Simpson was arrested and charged with murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. The trial, which ignited a national debate over race, fame and how both of them corrupt the legal system, resulted in Mr. Simpson's acquittal. In 1997, Mr. Simpson was found liable for the deaths in a civil case and ordered to pay the Goldman family $38 million and Ms. Simpson's family $24 million.
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/s/o_j_simpson/index.html
Transitional Justice
ReplyDeleteTransitional Justice is the overall modern concept describing approaches through which societies may address massive human rights violations, mass atrocities, or other forms of severe trauma in order to restore peace and positive relations within the society. Transitional Justice is mostly applied at a point of political transition from authoritarian, dictatorial regimes to democracy or after war and civil conflict.
An example of transitional justice can be found in South Afica.
From 1948 to 1994, South Africa was under apartheid rule which means that the legal system prescribed racist segregation. The rights of especially the black majority were seriously curtailed e.g. they did not have the right to vote and they were stripped of their citizenship. Blacks were forced to live in so-called Homelands and in townships.
When, in 1994, apartheid was finally abolished, the new government of Nelson Mandela set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The TRC had many prominent members, among them its chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a well-known opponent of apartheid and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize 1984. The TRC was a court-like body where witnesses and victims of human rights violation under the apartheid regime could give statement about their experiences in the period 21 March 1960 to 10 May 1994. In turn, perpetrators of abductions, killings, torture, and severe ill treatment could give testimony of their crimes and, by this, request amnesty from both civil and criminal persecution.
The commission was successful in revealing many human rights violations committed by the apartheid government, but also by the liberation forces including the (now ruling party) African National Congress (ANC), and other forces. On 28 October 1998 the Commission presented its final report, which condemned both sides for committing atrocities. Out of 7,112 petitioners a total of 5,392 people were refused and 849 were granted amnesty.
Because of the perceived success of the truth-finding approach, other countries installed similar institutions according to the South African model. Nevertheless, the TRC also got some criticism regarding its reconciliation goals.
Acts of Mercy (not sure if this is outdated information)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cracked.com/article_19550_the-5-most-mind-blowing-acts-battlefield-mercy-in-history.html