Diana the Huntress

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/03/mexico-killer-vigilante-diana-bus-drivers

This article about Diana the Huntress of Bus Drivers.  Tired of the sexual assaults upon women by bus drivers, she has taken matters into her own hands.  Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not an heretical belief to have recourse to the death penalty.  Within Catholic theology, there could be some cases where this vigilantism is acceptable.  Normally I talk about heresies, but today I’ll write about what is often thought of as a heresy but isn’t.

The section of the Catechism that refers to this is paragraph 2267.  The gist is that if the State can effectively deal with crime using non-lethal means, then those means should be used.  Therefore in a place like these United States, there is no need for the death penalty — we can effectively restrain those who commit murder or other violent crimes with our prison system.  However, in Mexico the government is clearly failing to keep people safe, especially in boarder towns.  Although the situation is improving, people have a right to safety and justice.  While I’m not sure exactly what the situation is like, it is not impossible for me to believe things are so bad that individuals must assume the role of the state and enforce the law until the state can reassert their rightful authority.  And while it is not permissible to aim to kill someone in self defense, it is permissible as a secondary effect.  Combining this fact with legitimate use of the death penalty when it is impossible to otherwise keep people safe could very well mean Diana the Huntress is on solid theological footing.  I cannot definitively say one way or another because I lack a lot of details, but remaining is the fact that there are situations when this sort of action is acceptable and not heretical to support.  From what I know of the situation, I hope Diana continues to help restore justice to that part of the world, and then parks her invisible jet for good when the State is in control again.