POPE FRANCIS' CONDEMNATION OF THE DEATH PENALTY ON MORAL GROUNDS

Pope Francis sharply condemned capital punishment most recently, saying the death penalty is “inadmissible” and “contrary to the Gospel.”

“However grave the crime that may be committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person,” the Holy Father stated. 

Coming on the 25th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  the Pope’s statement suggests that a more formal catechetical instruction regarding this issuing may be forthcoming.

“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out. And is, of itself, contrary to the Gospel, because it is freely decided to suppress a human life that is always sacred in the eyes of the Creator, and of which, in the final analysis, God alone is the true judge and guarantor,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis joins with every Pontiff since Pope St. John XXIII in calling for clemency for inmates who have been found guilty and condemned to death.

I have addressed these issues regarding the death penalty in a number previous postings.

It should be remembered that, when Pope St. John Paul II published the Catechism in 1992, it still admitted the use of the death penalty (No. 2266). 

Strong reaction from European and American Bishops led him to revise the text in 1997, with the help of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. 

But the revised text (No. 2267), however, still did not exclude the death death on moral grounds as Pope Francis now has.  The Catechism stated that,  given the possibilities the modern state has of rendering the criminal incapable of doing harm again, it follows that  “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent.’”  

It is an argument based upon a practical and expedient grounds in response to crimes involving the unjustified taking of human life.

Pope Francis has now raised objection to the death penalty on moral grounds stating: “No man ever, not even the murderer, loses his personal dignity, because God is a Father who always awaits the return of the son who, knowing that he has done wrong, asks pardon and begins a new life.” 

For this reason, the Holy Father said, “life cannot be taken away from anyone” and there must always be “the possibility of a moral and existential redemption that will be to the favor of the community.”

Thus, Pope Francis has taken a much greater step than any of his predecessors by declaring publicly on a solemn occasion, directly related to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that the death penalty is “contrary to the Gospel” and “inadmissible,” making clear that the Catechism must address the question in this more complete way.

Speaking of the way the Church’s teaching on the death penalty in presented, the Pope declared that “this problem cannot be merely reduced to a mere memory of historical teaching without bringing to the fore not only the progress in the teaching by the work of the last Pontiffs but also the changed awareness consciousness of the Christian people, that rejects an attitude which consents to a punishment that heavily harms human dignity.”

He concluded by saying: “Tradition is a living reality and only a partial vision can think of ‘the deposit of faith’ as something static. The Word of God cannot be conserved in mothballs as if it were an old blanket to be preserved from parasites. No. The Word of God is a dynamic reality, always alive, that progresses and grows because it tends towards a fulfillment that men cannot stop.”

I commend His Holiness whose love of the virtue of mercy has been the cornerstone of his Pontificate. His charity toward his fellow men and women is both immediately evident and has captivated the imagination of a myriad number of Catholic faithful and people of good will everywhere throughout the globe.

But, there is a troubling tendency of the Holy Father to belittle the consistent and constant teachings of the Church related to matters of Faith and morals.  

The Church’s teachings regarding the right of the state to execute those found guilty of capital offenses is not “some old blanket” of doctrine which the Church is attempting to “preserve from parasites”.   The Catechism is not a collection of “knee jerk” theological reactions to issues which confront the core values of individuals and societies.

In his call for mercy upon those condemned to death, the Holy Father has every right to plead a case for clemency.  But, in doing so, his “blanket” condemnation of the sound, reasoned, and (yes, dare I say it) inspired teaching of the Church does violence to the very moral authority he wishes to exert.

In supporting the death penalty as it has for centuries, the Church was not acting contrary to the Gospel but upholding the virtue of justice and  the duty and obligation of the State to support and enforce rightful laws which promote the common good, protecting and preserving the safety of the communities over which it exercises governance.  

In imposing the death penalty, the State not only exercises rightful authority but also makes a statement regarding the inviolability and value of the individual law-abiding citizen whose life is at the core of every society.   

The death penalty is not vindictive.  It is not an exercise of vengeance.  It is a somber, sober act of justice, imposed reluctantly and sadly, after years and years of appeals and questioning, and carried out always imploring and begging the mercy of God on the condemned.

To suggest that the imposition of the death penalty by legitimate civil authority is exercised whimsically or arbitrarily is to misstate the facts.

And so, as I hear Pope Francis speaking to this issue, I shall respect his fatherly call to be merciful but continue to support the rightful exercise of lawful authority to protect its citizens as well as impose a penalty which forcefully reminds everyone of the dignity and humanity of the innocent victim.