We all know that everyone has natural rights; but do we have the right to take those rights from those who have taken them from others? The treatment of Matthew Poncelet in the film Dead Man Walking shows how the Catholic Social Themes Call to Community, Family, and Participation, Life and Dignity of the Human Person, and Rights and Responsibilities have the potential to be ignored in death penalty cases.
The Catholic Social Teaching theme Life and Dignity of the Human Person has the potential to be ignored in death penalty cases, which is shown in the film Dead Man Waking. One of the main principles of the theme Life and Dignity of the Human Person is that everyone has a right to life. This is obviously ignored when the inmates are executed, but is it okay because they ignored it by taking someone else's life? Catholic Social Teaching teaches that all human life is sacred regardless of anything else. With this belief the death penalty would be ignoring the theme. An example of Life and Dignity of the Human Person being ignored in the film is in the scene when Matthew Poncelet is executed. In this scene Matthew is strapped to a table while people are sitting behind a large window watching. …show more content…
This theme calls all members of a community to work towards a common goal. In Dead Man Walking Matthew is not able to do this because of his death penalty sentence. A clear example of this is when Matthew meets with his family before he is executed. In this scene his brothers and mother share stories about things that have happened while he was in prison. This clearly demonstrates how Matthew is not able to participate because he did not know what was even going on with his own family! All in all, the film Dead Man Walking shows how in death penalty cases the Catholic Social Teaching theme Call to Family, Community, and Participation definitely has the potential to be
The Catholic Social Teaching theme Life and Dignity of the Human Person has the potential to be ignored in death penalty cases, which is shown in the film Dead Man Waking. One of the main principles of the theme Life and Dignity of the Human Person is that everyone has a right to life. This is obviously ignored when the inmates are executed, but is it okay because they ignored it by taking someone else's life? Catholic Social Teaching teaches that all human life is sacred regardless of anything else. With this belief the death penalty would be ignoring the theme. An example of Life and Dignity of the Human Person being ignored in the film is in the scene when Matthew Poncelet is executed. In this scene Matthew is strapped to a table while people are sitting behind a large window watching. …show more content…
This theme calls all members of a community to work towards a common goal. In Dead Man Walking Matthew is not able to do this because of his death penalty sentence. A clear example of this is when Matthew meets with his family before he is executed. In this scene his brothers and mother share stories about things that have happened while he was in prison. This clearly demonstrates how Matthew is not able to participate because he did not know what was even going on with his own family! All in all, the film Dead Man Walking shows how in death penalty cases the Catholic Social Teaching theme Call to Family, Community, and Participation definitely has the potential to be