In his January 18, 2026 Sermon, Bshop Robert Barron declared: “Sin Has to be Paid For.” He commented on a conviction deep in biblical sensibility that evil has to be dealt with by somehow confronting it here on earth in our daily life. Because he was preaching about the redemptive suffering of Jesus Christ, the implication is that the confronting of the evil is actually suffering the evil. He noted that forgiving a wrong by someone in a position to forgive does not fully deal with the evil. I thought of Erika Kirk forgiving the killer of her husband Charlie Kirk. What did her forgiveness accomplish? So much remains untouched. The evil of the deed is still there, she still griefs the loss of her husband, the assassin Tyler Robinson is still guilty and will suffer the legal consequences of his act. What is accomplish by way of removing evil by suffering an evil?

I answer by developing my reflections on Retributive Punishment and Moral Harm .

When Tyler Robinson chose to shoot Charlies Kirk, his justification for his action, was “this life ought to be taken.” By so choosing and acting, he added to morality a new, an ad hoc, moral rule requiring an evil, the taking of a life. It is the intentional and actual taking of the life of Charlies Kirk which which creates the ad hoc norm. The murder was a performative act because the performance of the act created something real in the moral order. Such an ad hoc prescribing harm conflicts with morality. It is a foreign element in morality.

As a reminder: there are numerous as hoc moral rules which can be carried out. A promise to repay a loan, creates an ad hoc rule which is satisfied when the loan is repaid. The promise is a performative act creating a prescription in morality

Sin is the reality in morality of an ad hoc moral rule requiring evil. The sense of sin is the dread of satisfaction of this ad hoc rule along with dread of leaving it unsatisfied.

There is so much sin in the world. Hence, much harm is required. Suffering pain is harm. Hence, a sentiment arises that personally suffering some pain satisfies some of these ad hoc norms requiring harm and thereby removing them from morality. The sentiment is that personal pain can be used to improve the human condition by at least satisfying some of the norms requiring harm to humans. This sentiment is that our pain can be used to atone for sins – our own and others.