Yes, Virginia, a Fetus is a Real Person

Finally, a fetus is recognized as a human being. A former youth pastor, (no, NOT Catholic), was sentenced to death for killing his pregnant 17 year old girlfriend and her unborn baby. While his lawyer claimed her client made some errors in judgment (ya think???), she didn't think he warranted the death penalty.

This marks the first death sentence in the murder of a fetus in Texas, since the law there amended its definition of the word "individual" to include an "unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth."

No surprise it happened in Texas. They're big on everything there, including the death penalty.

Bloodthirsy Tyrant or Martyr?

Saddam Hussein, the dictator who showed no mercy, wants to die a martyr's death. He believes his death will be a true sacrifice for his country, the country he tore apart with murder and crimes against humanity. People from all over Iraq are applying to be the hangman who tightens the noose, as the justice employees are too terrified to carry out the task.

Will Saddam confess to his crimes or ask forgiveness of God and his people? Since being sentenced to death last month, he has appealed for reconciliation among Iraqis, and his lawyers posted his final letter to the Iraqi people, urging them to love one another. He will be granted a last meal, a cigar and the opportunity to visit with loved ones, but did Saddam grant that ceremony to his many victims whose lives he snuffed out as though they were worthless and insignificant citizens of his own country?

Still, as Catholics, we are called to pray for his soul, as Terry Nelson reminds us. Let God be his judge.