ask our kids to pray for Tim McVae?

[Melody]

I was at ds's baseball game last night and was talking to another mom who's son attends the same school as mine. This is a catholic school but I wasn't brought up Catholic and neither was she so maybe we just don't get it. But here is what she told me happened in her son's class, he is seven and in grade two.

Yesterday, the day Tim McVae was put to death, the french teacher turned out the light momentarily and asked the class to bow their heads and say a special prayer for him and that he goes to Heaven.

Now, I'm sure she told them a little backround info on what this guy did because she wanted them to pray for him and my friends son came home with questions and said he didn't pray for this man because it just didn't seem right.

Where does this teacher get off? I'm sorry but if these teachers want to teach forgiveness, then why not use the playground and everyday experiences to do so? Our kids do not watch the news and hadn't heard any of this before now she has to explain about the death penalty, something we don't even have here, about what he did and so much more she was not ready for. I just thank my lucky stars my son wasn't told to do this.
I asked her (the mom) if the teacher ever asked the children to say a special prayer for all the family members of the victims or for children abandoned, abused or starving in this world and she said no and that was her point. So why this one for such a person who didn't even show remorse?
She is calling the school today and complaining and will hopefully get an answer as to what this teachers reasoning was.

But we're not out to lunch thinking that this request was insane, right?

[Diane]

I can't believe that she did this... to go so far as to turn off the lights and TELL the kids to pray for this guy to go to heaven... IMHO that was WAY out of line. She has every right to feel the way she does... and if she wanted to pray for Tim McVae on her own that's fine... but I don't think it was something that she should have asked or expected these little kids to do. Maybe her heart was in the right place... and I'm all for prayer but I considering who this guy is and what he did... I'm not too sure. Maybe I'm not sounding like a very good Christian by saying that but... I think everybody has their own thoughts and feelings about this subject and we should all be left to handle it in our own way... It doesn't sound to me as if this teacher was giving her students too much of a choice... she was definitely overstepping her boundaries.

Diane... :wave:

[angie r]

Although I did get up early and pray for Tim McVeigh and all his victims, I feel this teacher was WAY out of line. Being a private school they can do it I guess. Why would you pray for Tim and not all the victims though. If I remember correctly wasn't Tim's religious guide in prison a Catholic priest? Maybe it is a Catholic connection in some way? I wonder if the schools got together on some kind of a "prayer time?"

[SMB]

I am catholic and I"m very surprised that a teacher would tell children to pray for someone to go to Heaven. I would think a prayer for all concerned would have been more appropriate, even Mcveigh since he was being executed and killing is not acceptable in the catholic faith. I've never had a priest, nun, or teacher tell me to pray for something specific like that.

[kathleen]

I try to be a good Christian person -- but found that I could not pray for him -- except that he would find a heart inside himself and tell the families how sorry he was. To his death, he did not feel he had done anything wrong.

I believe, like Diane P, that this teacher overstepped boundaries. I try to keep a handle on what my son is exposed to as far as the horrors of the world. I know that I cannot always do that, but for the most part, at his age (6), I still can. We have never discuss the Oklahoma bombing, and I am not sure he knows about it. I would resent my son being exposed (courtesy of that teacher) to what he did. I think it is important for my son to learn life lessons -- but not based on someone else's agenda.

[Linda/NE]

We are Catholic and our kids attend a Catholic school but they're out for the summer.
This sounds like a personal choice issue that the teacher chose to pursue.

It is such a complicated issue for us as adults to understand, one can imagine a child's comprehension.

I'm not defending the teacher ( that is something that parents need to guide children on IMO.) But it does go along with the teachings of the Catholic church. We DO pray for people not only who are dying but who have already died. We believe that although they have died our prayers to God asking to forgive their sins are heard and granted.

I'm sure that most of us have heard "pray for your enemies." That is very difficult to do (but not something that one should tell another to do.)

I have read articles and seen tv interviews of people who forgave the person that killed a loved one. Those people say that they feel peace. Now, I honestly don't know that I could forgive someone like that myself. I've never been in that situation (and hope I never am!)
I didn't watch much of the coverage about the execution, but my BIL did. He said that McVeigh received last rites but showed no remorse ?

The Catholic church teaches that capital punishment is wrong. Not all Catholics agree. I've heard quite often lately that capital punishment is revenge not justice. I guess it is somewhat similar to the idea of spanking a child for hitting someone else. (Punish by performing basically a similar act) Obviously it gets more complicated than that.

Again, I'm not defending the teacher, but I did just want to clarify better why we believe in praying that way.

[Lynda/WA]

I feel that in a private school the teacher should have much more leeway. At the same time I think that if this was something that really bothered her it would have been more appropriate to pray for everyone involved. In my opinion the only way for someone to receive forgiveness from God (and get to heaven) is for them to want it. I don't think my praying for anyone else to go to heaven will cut it if they don't want forgiveness. I think it would be more effective for me to pray that they understand what they have done and want forgiveness. So, if my children went to a private school I wouldn't want them to be told to pray for someone to go to heaven. I think some people have gotten so caught up in the death penalty and McVeigh that they have forgotten about the other people. BTW - They always talk about the 168 that died. Did you know that 3 unborn babies died as well? I know that one of the women was due in June (about 7 months pregant). I find it terrible that they have been discounted.