[CatherineofAragon]

"He is not an animal. He is a man, a child of God, whom God loves very much, who has sinned horrifically, and whom God earnestly wants to repent so he can be forgiven and eventually spend eternity with him in heaven. I don't presume to tell a Jew what his faith teaches, but as a Christian, that is what our faith teaches us."

No, it doesn't. The Bible says that only those who accept Christ are children of God.

The man who committed those crimes is an animal, a piece of refuse.

[scouter]

The Bible says that only those who accept Christ are children of God.

Which, by accounts I have read, he has done, and repented for his sin.

I'm not saying that he should be let out of prison. I think he should stay right where he is. But whether or not he has accepted Christ and repented, he's neither an animal nor a piece of refuse. He's a man, loved by God, and for whom Christ died, whom God wants to bring to heaven some day.

Calling him anything less than a man is not true. He may or may not be an evil man, but he's a man. To deny that fact about him is to deny the truth, and thus, to deny Christ.

Don't forget that St. Paul himself was a murderer before his conversion, having stood by and approved of the murder of St. Stephen. And God loved him even before his conversion. Even murderers can become great saints.