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Can you give me an argument why capital punishment is OK when human life is sacred?
And, when in the history of the Church did we see a good reason for murdering a criminal?
I would say: Never.
What do you say?
I think the whole idea of murdering criminals is stupid but the Church seems to have another opinion. I want to be Catholic so I must accept, intellectually, that some form of murder is good.
Please help me understand how I can understand this confusing Catholic teaching. The Church talks a lot about abortion and euthanasia as bad and I agree . . . but Tim Staples of Catholic Answers seem to argue that capital punishment is not a bad thing in itself.
I am a bit confused.
We don't live in the Old Testament times anymore, do we?
Andrew
{ How can the Church view capital punishment as sometimes acceptable when human life is sacred? }
Paul replied:
Andrew,
The Church is against capital punishment with the rare exception of when it is necessary to protect the innocent.
Read section No. 2267 under Legitimate defense.
Legitimate defense.
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2267: Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.
Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.
Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person", (Pope Francis, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: Romano, 13 October 2017, 5.) and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. [Pope Francis, Oct. 11, 2017]
Also, understand that there is a difference between killing and murder.
Murder, by definition, is the intentional killing an innocent human being.
Killing is permitted if necessary to protect the innocent from an unjust aggressor, which falls under the principle of legitimate defense.
See # 2264 on the same section.
Legitimate defense.
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2264 Love toward oneself remains a fundamental principle of morality. Therefore it is legitimate to insist on respect for one's own right to life. Someone who defends his life is not guilty of murder even if he is forced to deal his aggressor a lethal blow:
If a man in self-defense uses more than necessary violence, it will be unlawful: whereas if he repels force with moderation, his defense will be lawful. . . . Nor is it necessary for salvation that a man omit the act of moderate self-defense to avoid killing the other man, since one is bound to take more care of one's own life than of another's.
Because there may be rare times, at least hypothetically, when capital punishment could be legitimate, it is not intrinsically evil like abortion and euthanasia. No possible situation or circumstances could ever justify those acts, which are the killing of the innocent.
Peace,
Paul
Mike replied:
Dear Andrew,
This is a common question; it's even in our searchable knowledge base:
