It has not been easy, but it has been grace-filled’
February 4, 2026
Catholic Bible Institute at 40 marks ‘what was and what must be’
February 4, 2026
By Fr Stephan Alexander
General Manager, CCSJ and AMMR
Scripture does not romanticise leadership, nor does it permit cynicism. Rather, it calls believers to a demanding path: respect for authority, honest moral evaluation, and courageous action rooted in faith rather than impulse.
That tension is especially pressing in the present moment. In recent weeks, our nation has been shaken by reports of police-involved killings and other alleged extra-judicial actions, including the death of a young man during a police altercation that left his common-law wife paralysed.
These events have generated understandable grief, anger, and fear. They have also exposed a deeper moral crisis: not simply questions of crime and security, but questions about how we understand power, accountability, and the value of human life.
This moral crisis is sharpened by a troubling pattern that has been emerging. Guardian Media has reported a significant upsurge in fatal police-related incidents, noting that 27 such deaths occurred during the period of the State of Emergency, spanning July 2025 to January 2026. The concentration of lethal encounters within this defined period raises serious ethical questions that cannot be dismissed as coincidence or unfortunate necessity.
These developments require us to pause and critically evaluate not only the effectiveness of our crime-fighting strategies but also the underlying philosophy that appears to be shaping them.
When the preservation of order is pursued through increasingly lethal means, there is a real danger that force becomes normalised and human life is subtly reduced to an obstacle rather than recognised as a sacred trust. Such a posture risks cultivating a mindset in which expediency eclipses dignity and suspicion replaces due process.
From a Christian perspective, this is a serious distortion. The Gospel teaches that the duty to protect life cannot be separated from reverence for its sacredness.
Any philosophy that treats the loss of life as an acceptable price for public security contradicts the Christian understanding of the human person. Every person, even one who has committed serious wrongdoing, is not a problem to be eliminated but a mystery to be safeguarded.
The increase in fatal encounters, therefore, calls not only for policy review and institutional accountability but for moral examination at the deepest level. It forces us to ask whether we are drifting toward a utilitarian logic that measures success by control rather than justice, and security by fear rather than trust. Such a trajectory, if left unchallenged, is inimical to the Christian faith and corrosive to the moral fabric of society itself.
The Christian response, therefore, cannot be reactionary or selective. It must be objective, principled, and grounded in the Gospel. Sacred Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching are clear: every human life possesses inherent dignity because it is created in the image and likeness of God.
This dignity is neither earned by good behaviour, nor lost through wrongdoing, nor suspended by social status, occupation, or accusation. It applies to the law-abiding citizen and the criminal suspect, the police officer and the detainee, the victim and the perpetrator. Where human dignity is denied to any, it is ultimately threatened for all.
This conviction demands clarity. The Church is not opposed to the State’s legitimate role in maintaining public order, nor does she ignore the real suffering caused by crime.
Police officers bear a grave and difficult responsibility, often at great personal risk. They deserve respect, support, and fair treatment. At the same time, the arbitrary use of lethal force and the policies that enable it cannot be normalised, excused, or quietly accepted. To do so is to abandon justice for expediency.
Christians today are called to reject two equal and opposite errors: blind loyalty that excuses abuse, and moral outrage that descends into lawlessness or dehumanisation.
Authentic justice is neither emotional nor arbitrary. It is measured, accountable, and ordered toward the common good. It insists on due process, transparent investigation, and institutional reform where necessary.
It demands that allegations of wrongdoing, especially where life has been lost, be examined independently and thoroughly, not to satisfy public anger, but to serve truth.
St John Paul II warned that when societies begin to decide which lives are worthy of protection, they enter a “culture of death” that ultimately consumes everyone. Pope Francis echoed this sentiment repeatedly, insisting that peace and security cannot be built on fear, brutality, or the erosion of human dignity, but only on justice rooted in respect for the human person.
For us as disciples, this means three concrete commitments.
Firstly, we must pray for victims and their families, for those entrusted with authority, and for a society wounded by violence. Prayer forms the conscience and guards the heart from hatred.
Secondly, we must speak clearly, calmly, and consistently for the sanctity of life and the demands of justice, even when it is uncomfortable or unpopular.
Thirdly, we must act by supporting lawful accountability, advocating for ethical policing, and resisting narratives that treat certain lives as disposable.
To follow Christ is to believe that no life is beyond God’s concern and no injustice beyond God’s judgement. Remember, discipleship demands deeper moral courage; courage shaped by truth, disciplined by charity, and anchored in the unshakable dignity of every human life.
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