71: Murder often Sanctioned
Chapter 71, "Murder Often Sanctioned," clarifies that any injury or death inflicted to avenge an insult to reputation or character is unequivocally murder, as such losses are fleeting and do not justify private vengeance when legal recourse is available. The text explicitly condemns dueling as a form of murder and suicide, lacking any moral or rational basis, and highlights the Church's severe anathemas against all participants. Similarly, lynching is denounced as a cowardly and brutal act of willful murder, an unforgivable affront to justice and divine law, even if undertaken under the guise of public indignation, as it usurps the legitimate authority of the state to administer justice.
For the full audiobook can be obtained here. The contents of this volume appeared originally in The Catholic Transcript, of Hartford, Connecticut, in weekly installments, from February, 1901, to February, 1903.
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