Ukrainian Catholic Priest Blasts Justice System; Compares It to Old Testament's "Eye for an Eye"

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) -- the largest of the 21 Eastern Catholic churches in communion with the Holy See -- is denouncing the Ukrainian prison system as "a repressive apparatus for revenge so that a person completely loses his dignity," the Catholic Culture website reports today (November 2, 2011).

"Our judicial system is as follows: In the Old Testament it was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; now it's a jaw for a tooth, a head for an eye," says Father Constantin Penteley, head of the UGCC's office for penitentiary pastoral care.

There are cases in which someone is detained "so that he signs all the papers against him," Father Penteley says.

He adds this is a torture, because the judicial investigation extends for a long time -- usually years -- resulting in people to sign papers that say they confess to the crime.