Tiller Killed at Church

George Tiller, a Wichita doctor who was one of the few doctors in the nation to perform late-term abortions, was shot to death on Sunday as he attended church, city officials in Wichita said.


Occasionally, a cause to advance a common good attracts an individual who taps into the energy because they can utilize it to create a rollercoaster of drama and emotions. These individuals have been scarred by life in one way or another. They've run out of relatives, jobs, friends and enemies to get the rollercoaster going and so they find a cause. They're fired up, but any in-depth conversation with them and you realize their theology and philosphy about your cause and other things in life are way off the mark. The people who come around to tap into the stream manifests itself in a lot of ways. I've had these poor souls come onto my radar screen in all kinds of roles. This is what makes the Eric McFaddens so dangerous. They can snap at any moment and are unpredictable. We have them in our prolife community. A seasoned activist can recognize the dynamic when it shows up on the radar screen.

Nobody prolife would kill somebody else. It's the antithesis of our breed. It's unheard of, impossible. To compare the person who killed George Tiller to prolifers is like comparing a mother who kills her own children to your own mother. It is against our every human instinct to kill.

Taking the life of persons who kill other people gravely compounds a murder because you take away the possibility of a future conversion and repentance. This is why Catholics oppose a death sentence, except in very limited circumstances. Taking it upon ourselves to end the life of a person takes away that person's opportunity for salvation.

People working to advance the prolife cause, motivated by concerns about souls and salvation do not take the life of another person.

Fr. Pavone's statement:

“I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it, whether an angry post-abortive man or woman, or a misguided activist, or an enemy within the abortion industry, or a political enemy frustrated with the way Tiller has escaped prosecution. We should not jump to conclusions or rush to judgment.

“But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions.”

***Update

More information about Tiller's killer from LifeNews.

In 1996, officials in Kansas apparently stopped his vehicle for not having a valid license plate, which he altered as an act of anti-governmental protest. His license plate apparently had slogans such as "Private Property, Immunity Declared at Law, Non-Commercial American."

According to the Kansas City Star, the FBI suspected Roeder of having ties with the Montana Freemen, a militia group, which had had standoffs with authorities.

The Star indicates that, after he was apprehended on an interstate highway in the prior incident, a search of his vehicle resulted in obtaining bombmaking material, including gunpowder and two six-volt lantern batteries.

In his home, authorities found a two-page bombmaking instruction manual.

Roeder has spent time in prison, including a 16-month stint after violating the terms of his parole related to the license plate incident.

Roeder's only ties to pro-life groups appear to be messages he left on the public forum at the Operation Rescue web site concerning Tiller.

In one, he wrote about monitoring Tiller's church, which is where he allegedly ultimately had a confrontation with the abortion practitioner at Reformation Lutheran Church and killed him.

"Bleass (sic) everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp," he wrote.

"Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tillers church (inside, not just outside) to have much more of a presence and possibly ask questions of the Pastor, Deacons, Elders and members while there? Doesn't seem like it would hurt anything but bring more attention to Tiller," he said.

Clearly off the edge, with ties to the Montana Freeman Militia Group.

Randy Trochmann edited MOM's journal, Taking Aim, which discussed the New World Order conspiracy and its encroachment on every aspect of daily life. The publication was widely read in militia circles, and its popularity solidified MOM's place in the vanguard of the movement. The group also published a catalog that stocked everything from caps and fatigue jackets to guides on improvising munitions and escaping from police custody. The abusive power of the government was explored in videotapes like "Surviving Martial Law" by John Trochmann, "Government Gone Mad " by conspiracy theorist Jeff Baker and "Pestilence," in which James Wickstrom, an outspoken anti-Semitic and former Posse Comitatus leader, asserted that the AIDS virus was a biological weapon released by the NWO powers to eliminate two billion people by the year 2000. The MOM catalog also offered more specific training materials, including weapons breakdown manuals; "Techniques for Harassment," a video presenting the latest refinements of that art; and "How to Disappear Completely," which provided would-be revolutionaries with the skills to craft new identities.

Roeder has no ties in the prolife community. Like I said yesterday, sometimes people addicted to emotional rollercoasters run out of relatives and friends and they find a crusade to help their emotions run amok.

My friend LCIB, in the comments section, brings up very valid points. Tiller was a maniacal killer of the worst kind. We don't have to be sad he's dead. In honesty, I think we can say that few, if any of us are thinking “Isn’t this terrible, George Tiller is dead”. Tiller wasn't a threat to our country's sovereignty. Don't think we have the makings for a military response.


I am still processing this - like many people. We can be relieved Tiller is dead. We can pray and have hope that lives will be saved now that this tyrant is dead, while still proclaim that we are not called to take the sword to the killers. We're not called to prematurely take a life and the possible opportunity of future repentance – even if it was on Tiller's death bed.