Timothy McVeigh: Where Is He Now?

by Father John McCloskey

According to news reports, Timothy McVeigh, a lapsed Catholic, received the anointing of the sick, a Catholic sacrament, just minutes before his execution. Nevertheless, he died without expressing sorrow or apology to the relatives of the people for whose death he was responsible. A newspaper account quotes a relative of a victim as saying: "I don't think he gave himself to the Lord, I don't think he repented. Personally I think he is in hell."

Where does McVeigh's Catholicism fit in all this? According to a priest who dealt with him for more than a year, he had most likely not practiced his faith in a sacramental sense since high school. Presumably he had a minimal knowledge of his faith, as do so many Catholics of his age and background, and had received the initial sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and holy communion.

Somewhere along the line, clearly something went horribly wrong, and he made a series of choices that culminated in the horrific crime for which he paid the ultimate penalty of the law. But at the end, we know McVeigh was anointed. We may presume that he confessed his sins, since the anointing of the sick, assuming the person about to die is conscious, requires such a confession before the sacrament can be conferred.

If this is the case, and McVeigh's confession and contrition were sincere, he received Christ's pardon for all his sins, thus reopening the way to heaven. According to Catholic teaching, McVeigh faced his Lord and Savior for judgment immediately after his death. If he was indeed in a state of grace, he would be received into heaven or sent to an intermediate state called purgatory for a period of purification. There also he would be punished for past sins that, although repented, still needed to be atoned for.

What has become of the immortal soul of Timothy McVeigh? Only God knows. But if McVeigh confessed his sins, he did what the church required to have the merits of Christ's redemption applied to him. There the case rests. His friends, relatives and even some of the relatives of his victims may continue to pray for his eternal rest, if they so choose, perhaps lessening his time in purgatory. The church in some few cases beatifies and canonizes, saying that particular people indeed enjoy the beatific vision of God in heaven. Happily, however, it does not demonize.

The church has never proclaimed that anyone is in hell, even Judas, although it is quite clear that hell exists by Christ's teachings in Scripture and that there is a wide open road to it. The church exists to give glory to God and salvation to sinners. It shows us that it is never too late to veer off the road to hell and follow the path to heaven. As such, it is "rich in mercy" to all who ask for forgiveness–including those who have committed the most grievous sins.

Evidently Timothy McVeigh was a prodigal son who at the end of his life approached the Heavenly Father to ask pardon for having squandered the inheritance of his Catholic upbringing and sacramental life. In my office, where I receive many penitents, I have a picture of John Paul II visiting Mehmet Ali Agca, his would-be assassin, in his prison cell–presumably offering his personal forgiveness and that of Christ. Perhaps McVeigh remembered that act of mercy toward another notorious terrorist.

The Catholic Church puts no limits on the scope of Christ's redemption as applied to us sinners. At the same time, the church truly believes in man's free will. No one goes to heaven or hell unless he chooses to do so by his own actions. McVeigh gave as his last will to the public the Victorian poem Invictus which means "unconquerable," in what appeared to be a defiant rebuke to the government that put him to death. I prefer to believe that in those last hours before his execution he allowed the merciful Christ to conquer him with grace.

First appeared in The Wall Street Journal on June 15, 2001.