Every Oct. 10 is dedicated to reflecting upon the abolition of the death penalty, a sentence that Pope Francis declared inadmissible.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS INADMISSIBLE
On this point, in 2018, Pope Francis authorized the modification of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Point 2267 of the Catechism stated that the Church did not exclude capital punishment if it was “the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.” Although it also noted that such cases “are very rare,” it legitimized the application of this “acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.”
Now the Catholic Church does not allow for the death penalty in any case.
POPE FRANCIS
“However serious the crime committed may have been, the death penalty is inadmissible because it undermines the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
THE CHURCH'S COMMITMENT
Along the same lines, in his latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis dedicates six points to the issue of capital punishment. He makes it clear that:
“There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we state clearly that 'the death penalty is inadmissible' (...)” (Fratelli Tutti, 263).
The pope says it's a fight for all of society. On top of abolishing the death penalty, it's a call to improve prison conditions. It also defines a life sentence as “a secret death penalty.”
EVERY LIFE IS SACRED
In 2015, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to give a speech at the United States Congress, the institutional heart of the country where the death penalty is still allowed in 29 states. He encouraged U.S. bishops in the fight against this sentence.
POPE FRANCIS
Sept. 24, 2015 (U.S. Congress)
“I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred.”
He said that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude hope nor rehabilitation as an objective. According to international organizations, there has been a decrease in the application of this sentence in recent years. In 2019, Amnesty International registered 657 death penalty executions in 20 countries.
Daniel Díaz Vizzi
Translation: CT
