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Our parish RCIA class teaches that the death
penalty and abortion are both murder. A lady
in the class believes that a criminal, found
guilty after a trial and appeal can be morally
executed.
She understands that the Catholic Church
prohibits the death penalty and this is a problem for
her. Abortion, however, is killing innocent
life and is never permitted.
Can you explain the morality of the death
penalty?
Is it ever justified to protect the innocent?
Can you reply with information that addresses
these questions?
Thank you,
Mary
{ Can
you explain the morality of the death penalty and is it ever justified to protect the innocent? }
John
replied:
Hi, Mary —
Thanks for the question.
There has been some distortion in
the teaching taking place in your
parish RCIA .
For practical purposes, one can say
the Church disapproves of capital
punishment, but the Church does not
teach the death penalty is murder,
in fact, Scripture gives government
the right to execute criminals, as
does the Catechism
of the Catholic Church.
Legitimate defense.
.
.
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]
However,
the purpose of the death penalty
is to prevent the criminal from killing
again.
In most modern societies, like the
United States, the common good and
protection of society can be met
in other ways, without execution.
Being that we were all condemned
to hell if it were not for Jesus,
we have a higher calling to show
mercy over justice so, in our present
situation, we have a moral obligation to do
the same.
Therefore, we should seek other means
to protect society.
I hope this helps.
John DiMascio
Mike
replied:
Hi, Mary —
I just wanted to add to John's answer by quoting Pope St. John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae:
"Today, in fact, given the
means at the State's disposal
to effectively repress crime by
rendering inoffensive the one
who has committed it, without
depriving him definitively of
the possibility of redeeming himself,
cases of absolute necessity for
suppression of the offender 'today
are very rare, if not practically
non-existent."
