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What the Vatican has said
The
definitive Latin edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, issued in
September 1997, states that although the death penalty would be theoretically
permissible in instances when it is "the only possible way of effectively
defending human lives against the unjust aggressor," such instances are
"practically non-existent" in today's world, given the resources available to
governments for restraining criminals. The Catechism language
(click here for text)
reflects the views of Pope John Paul II, expressed in his 1995 encyclical "The
Gospel of Life."
More recently, at his Sept. 13, 2000 general audience in St. Peter's Square, the
Holy Father expressed his hope "that there no longer be recourse to capital
punishment, given that states today have the means to efficaciously control
crime, without definitively taking away an offender's possibility to redeem
himself."
In a homily at a Jan. 27, 1999 Papal Mass in St. Louis, Mo., he termed the death
penalty "both cruel and unnecessary," and went on to say:
"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally
pro-life: who will acclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every
situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of
human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done
great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without
definitively denying criminals the chance to reform."
In a declaration to the first World Congress on the Death Penalty held June
21-23, 2001 in Strasbourg, France, the Vatican termed the death penalty "a sign
of desperation," and said it pursued the abolition of capital punishment as "an
integral part of the defense of human life at every stage of its development....
The universal abolition of the death penalty would be a courageous reaffirmation
of the belief that humankind can be successful in dealing with criminality and
of our refusal to succumb to despair before such forces, and as such it would
regenerate new hope in our very humanity."
Other views
Numerous other Vatican officials have echoed the Pope's views. In a June 20,
2001 address to members of the organization Priests for Life, Archbishop Renato
Martino, the Holy See's ambassador to the United Nations, said: "Our voice must
be heard not only in the fight against abortion, but in the fight against
euthanasia and capital punishment as well. We can never condone the deliberate
taking of human life created in love by God and redeemed in Jesus Christ."
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, says that in modern society it would be "practically impossible" to
fulfill the Catechism's criteria for a death sentence.
In a 1992 newspaper interview, the Vatican's Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini stated:
"Among the individuals and groups against legalized abortion in the United
States, there are some who support the continuation of capital punishment. This
is an inconsistency and an unacceptable contradiction."