A few months back there was a lot of talk about the death penalty because Pope Francis made a development in our doctrine surrounding the death penalty. What Pope Francis said, and I completely agree with, is that there is no reason for any country in our modern world to use the death penalty. You may be asking, what did the Holy Father change it from? Great question. Let’s look at the death penalty, the issues around it, and why it would ever be justified.
I think it’s safe to say anyone reading this article knows about the death penalty. I’m also sure that many people reading this believe that the death penalty is ok and completely justified. Well, the Church and Christ Himself 100% disagree with you. When we read the Sacred Scriptures, whenever Jesus encountered anyone condemned to death, he saved them (most famously, the woman caught in adultery). Why is the death penalty wrong? Because it takes away a human persons freedom, it takes away their inherent dignity, and it violates the fifth commandment.
When we kill someone, we are obviously taking away their freedom. They are not choosing to die, the person killing them (or the jury) is the one making the decision. It doesn’t even matter that someone know death is a consequence to an action because death should never be a consequence to breaking a rule/commandment. Having a law that says “if you kill someone then we (the state) will kill you” is an unjust law because it involves the taking of a human life. Killing someone diminishes their human dignity because by killing them you are stating their life is meaningless or so terrible that they shouldn’t even exist. All human beings have equal dignity. There are no qualifications to that statement. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. All human beings are equal and have dignity.
Why did the Church allow the death penalty? It was the teaching/tradition of the Church to allow the death penalty under the allowance of self-defense. The ONLY situation where breaking the fifth commandment isn’t sinful is when it’s done in self-defense, and even then death is the LAST RESORT. If you were a country/state that had a terrible criminal justice system that couldn’t detain murderers (they kept escaping and killing more people) then the Church allowed the death penalty out of self-defense for that country/state. That being said, there was never a system the Church found who qualified for this exemption. This is why Pope Francis developed the doctrine to simple stating, the death penalty is never allowed.
Jesus warns against “an eye for an eye” system of justice. It is unjust and totally contrary to the Gospel to take away from someone what they have taken from you. Christ made it clear the first commandment is to love God above all things and to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Not to mention that the death penalty obviously doesn’t stop crime. Nations and states have used the death penalty for thousands of years and people still commit murders. It is illogical and unjust to kill people because they killed people. All we are doing is continuing the cycle of violence and degrading the dignity of the human person.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, pray with me for an end to the death penalty in our own country and around the world. We should be seeking out politicians and judges who want to reform our criminal justice system and work to promote the dignity of the human person. All people should be treated equally and have their inherent dignity protected, regardless of their past, skin color, gender, criminal background, age, etc. All lives matter and are sacred.