The teaching of the Catholic Church on the death penalty is clear.  The 1994 edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, states that: “…if bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and protect the public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means.” (2267)  In his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II took this one step further by proclaiming that capital punishment can rarely – if ever – be condoned:

“It is clear that… the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” (56)

This teaching is rightly placed in an encyclical on “the Gospel of Life” – for the Church’s position on this issue is part of what Cardinal Bernadine has called the “seamless garment” of life affirmation and promotion.  This consistent ethic, in turn, arises from one of the seven central tenants of Catholic social teaching: the essential human dignity of all persons.  To say that “human dignity” is essential means that it is part of the essence of being human.  It is not something to be lost or gained, it is part of who we are.  Thus, no act – no matter how repugnant – can compromise the dignity of beings created in the image of God.

With these teachings as our foundation, the Franciscan Coalition aligns itself with the Church in remaining staunchly opposed to the death penalty as a justifiable means of punitive retribution.  We are committed to seeing the death penalty abolished in our state (North Carolina) and throughout the country.  Working incrementally towards this ultimate goal, we also work to uphold the moratorium on the death penalty.  And, in lieu of this, we seek to advocate reform to make the killings as humane as possible (though it is difficult to even speak of “humane killings”).

For more information about the teaching of the church on this issue, we highly recommend “Culture of Life, Penalty of Death” published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  More resources from the USCCB are also available here.

As always, please feel free to contact us with any further questions or requests for further information.