There’s the case of the navy wife, as reported in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
It’s a lengthy read. But some of the outstanding passages are interesting:
The Tremblays, devout Catholics who live in rural Alabama, were estranged from Christine, as well as Francine, over religious issues. Christine and Marc lived together before marriage; her parents refused to attend their wedding. “I cannot be part of my children’s lives if they are living in sin. I would be contributing to it,” said Joseph Tremblay.
I don’t care how devoutly religious anyone claims to be… since when does being a parent mean that you’re “contributing” to your children’s “sin?” Wouldn’t it stand to reason that by remaining a strong influence in your child’s life, you stand a chance of influencing their decisions? Not that I’m the religious type, far from it… perhaps in this case, with that line of thinking it might have been better for everyone’ sanity that they kept their distance.
And then there’s:
So many tears have been shed in this family. “Francine — our biggest question is did she have the time, did he cheat her out of the opportunity to ask for God’s mercy?” asked Joseph. “If you don’t die in a state of grace, you go to hell.”
Oh spare me. If you truly believe that all of your deeds in this world don’t amount to a hill of beans, and all you have to do is “die in a state of grace” for whatever deity you believe in to take you to Magic Happy Land, then I submit you’re truly off your rocker. I guess if you’re a saint but die instantly, you go to hell. And all Martha Stewart has to do is be prostrate before her God (or herself, since she probably believes she is God) and all will be forgiven, right?
Truly, the only person I have a shred of sympathy for in this case is Francine, the poor woman who was murdered. In life, she was handed a bum deck in the family, friends and “soul mate” that she was forced to make do with. And every living relative and spouse interviewed in the case, bares a bit of guilt for whatever happened to her.