The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Pope Francis says death penalty is contrary to Gospel

It’s no surprise that Pope Francis is against the death penalty. Recent popes have spoken out against this practice. Pope St. John Paul II clarified the Church’s teaching in his pro‑life encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae” (“The Gospel of Life”), and amended the Catechism of the Catholic Church to say that the death penalty is only permissible under very strict, and rare, circumstances.

But Pope Francis has made Church teaching on the death penalty more direct and unambiguous. The practice “heavily wounds human dignity,” the pope says. It is “an inhuman measure” that is “contrary to the Gospel” because the death penalty is an intentional decision to end a human life which, the pope says, “is always sacred in the eye of the Creator.” In the end, “only God can be the true judge and guarantor” of any human life. Not even the most vicious and inexcusable crimes can justify the taking of a human life. Capital punishment removes the possibility that the guilty party will recognize his or her guilt, request forgiveness and begin a new life.

The Gospel is filled with examples of God’s mercy toward sinners, including those who have committed crimes which according to Mosaic law or Roman law were punishable by death. Forgiveness is absolute, not conditioned on the gravity of the offense. No matter what we have done, or how often we have done it, redemption is always available.

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has already paid the price for our transgressions—no matter how serious. It is not up to human agents to decide when someone else’s life should be forfeited. That choice is to be made by God alone. He sees what we cannot see. He knows things we will never know or understand.

Pope Francis acknowledges that this is a development, a deeper understanding, of the Church’s teaching. In the past, capital punishment was allowed because it was seen in the same light as an individual’s right to self-defense. Faced with no other option, an individual can justifiably take the life of someone who poses an immediate threat to one’s own life or the life of another. Killing in self-defense is permissible in extreme, life-threatening circumstances precisely because it respects human dignity and protects the vulnerable from experiencing grave harm.

The argument for capital punishment is much weaker. Rarely does a society have to resort to the death penalty in order to protect its citizens from immediate danger. Once someone who has committed grave crimes and is a threat to the community is in custody, there are always options for incarceration and, perhaps, rehabilitation. Life in prison is admittedly an expensive burden for society, but human life is sacred and inviolable. It is impossible to put a price on a human being’s life—even when a person has committed the most reprehensible crimes.

Pope Francis believes that this development of Church teaching does not contradict or change what Christians have always believed. The Christian faith has always insisted on the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have an obligation to defend the sacredness of human life whenever and wherever it is threatened.

“Therefore,” Pope Francis says, “it is necessary to reiterate that, no matter how serious the crime committed, the death penalty is inadmissible, because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

Currently, the catechism says that the death penalty is permissible only if: 1) the identity and guilt of the condemned is certain; and 2) capital punishment is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against an unjust aggressor.

Opponents of the death penalty point out that history shows how difficult it is to be certain about the identity or guilt of someone who has been condemned to death. They also insist that capital punishment is rarely, if ever, “the only possible way” to protect society from dangerous criminals.

Pope Francis’ vision of the boundless mercy of God strongly influences his position on the death penalty. God’s justice is not “legalistic” or rigid. It is colored by the immensity of God’s love for every human being regardless of his or her worth in the eyes of society. From this perspective, every life is worth saving, regardless of the cost.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †