Courtly gesture aims to annul Jesus’ condemnation
Though Jesus did not come to judge, as he makes clear in this Sunday’s gospel, he himself was condemned . . .
Though Jesus did not come to judge, as he makes clear in this Sunday’s gospel, he himself was condemned to die. Now a Kenyan lawyer is on a quixotic quest to overturn Pontius Pilate's court ruling, though he wants to keep the faith that flowed from it. "The selective and malicious prosecution [of Jesus] violated his human rights," said Dola Indidis, a Roman Catholic who is petitioning the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, to nullify Jesus' conviction and death sentence.
Indidis, a former spokesman for the Kenyan judiciary, accuses Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Judea, of "judicial misconduct, abuse of office, bias, and prejudice." That may well be so, but getting a court to rule on a 2,000-year-old case from an outlying province in a long-defunct empire will not be easy.
Indidis first brought his case before the Kenyan High Court in Nairobi in 2007, but the court refused to hear it, saying it lacked jurisdiction. Now he is turning to the International Court of Justice, often referred to as the World Court, best known for ruling on territorial disputes between members of the United Nations. Officials at The Hague would not confirm or deny that they have received a petition.
But Indidis seems undeterred and points to the example of Joan of Arc, the 15th-century saint who led the French to major victories against the English before she was captured and burned at the stake. A quarter-century after Joan's death her conviction was overturned by a papal court, and in 1920 she was canonized.
Homily hint: Although Indidis’ crusade may bring a smile to people's faces, it still causes us to ponder why a man who “did good wherever he went” was put to death in a world filled with suffering and starving for redemption. As one commentator said of Jesus' Crucifixion, “This is what God’s love looks like when offered to a sinful and violent world.”
Indidis, a former spokesman for the Kenyan judiciary, accuses Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Judea, of "judicial misconduct, abuse of office, bias, and prejudice." That may well be so, but getting a court to rule on a 2,000-year-old case from an outlying province in a long-defunct empire will not be easy.
Indidis first brought his case before the Kenyan High Court in Nairobi in 2007, but the court refused to hear it, saying it lacked jurisdiction. Now he is turning to the International Court of Justice, often referred to as the World Court, best known for ruling on territorial disputes between members of the United Nations. Officials at The Hague would not confirm or deny that they have received a petition.
But Indidis seems undeterred and points to the example of Joan of Arc, the 15th-century saint who led the French to major victories against the English before she was captured and burned at the stake. A quarter-century after Joan's death her conviction was overturned by a papal court, and in 1920 she was canonized.
Homily hint: Although Indidis’ crusade may bring a smile to people's faces, it still causes us to ponder why a man who “did good wherever he went” was put to death in a world filled with suffering and starving for redemption. As one commentator said of Jesus' Crucifixion, “This is what God’s love looks like when offered to a sinful and violent world.”
Source: An article by Fredrick Nzwili for Religion News Service