Giving names to evil and salvation on Easter
National Post, 01 April 2021
The names of the righteous and unrighteous belong to history, each having to answer for the part taken.
Just a month ago, Judge Anne Molloy found Alek Minassian guilty of murdering 10 people in 2018, when he mowed down Toronto pedestrians with his van.
The judgment included an unusual preamble that departed from the law, regarding the psychology of the killer, the mission of the news media and the broader culture of notorious crimes.
“Throughout this trial, I have understood the need for these proceedings to be public and transparent,” Molloy wrote. “I have also recognized the crucial role of the media to keep the public informed … That said, I am acutely aware that all of this attention and media coverage is exactly what this man sought from the start.”
So she wrote only of “John Doe,” which is the usual treatment given to victims in certain cases.
“In this case, and at this juncture, all I can do is to refuse to actually name the accused in my Reasons for Judgment,” Molloy explained. “It is my hope that his name would no longer be published by anyone else either. That is not an order I will make, it is merely a wish, perhaps a naïve one. … Instead of naming the perpetrator of these crimes I will name the people he killed and injured.”
It is something to think about on this Holy Saturday, the day of silence between the cross on Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter morning. The Christian scriptures are punctilious about recording the names of those involved, even those of rather minor characters.
We know of Simon of Cyrene, the one who helped Jesus carry the cross. We even know the names of his sons. There is Mary, wife of Clopas, at the foot of the cross. There are the men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who come to bury the body. Cleopas and his companion were despondent on the road to Emmaus.
Most remarkably, the name of Pontius Pilate is recorded. Indeed, not only in scripture, but whenever Christians summarize their faith in the profession of creeds, the name of Pontius Pilate is included.
He is a marginal figure, less important in the passion of Christ than Pharaoh was during the exodus, or King Herod was in relation to John the Baptist. Pilate did not initiate the plot against Jesus. He tried to set him free, but failed in his nerve. He did not desire the crucifixion. But he could have stopped it.
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