Capital Punishment in Catholic Teachings

Review  When does the Catholic Church say life begins? When does it end?  What is the Consistent Life Ethic?  What is the both/and approach?

A Pro-life church  The Catholic Church always defends life – the life of EVERY human; no matter their…  Behaviour or choices  Gender or age  Health or ability  Sexual orientation  Background or wealth

Life is a difficult choice  Teachings like:  The Consistent Life Ethic (US bishops, 1990s)  Evangelium Vitae (Pope John Paul II, 1995)  The 7 themes of Catholic social teaching  The Catechism of the Catholic Church  All give the same message –human life has dignity  Society has to change for life to be given its full dignity:  Laws need to change  We need to address the causes of poverty  We need to stop violence

What does the Bible say?  The Old Testament (shared with the Jewish people) say that the death penalty is required by Jewish law  Exodus 21 – “an eye for an eye”. But what did Jesus say about it?  See Matthew 5:38-39, Matthew 26:51-52,  Jesus said His mission was not to get rid of the Old Testament laws, but to fulfill them. However, He and His apostles greatly modified our understanding of God's intentions.  Love is the principle that must guide all our actions (Matthew 5:43-48, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Romans 13:9-10, Galatians 5:14, Matthew 22:34-40). We are no longer bound by the harsh Old Testament law (John 1:16-17, Romans 8:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:20- 21).

 Jesus rejected the Old Testament idea of taking equal revenge for a wrong done (Matthew 5:38-41, Luke 9:52-56).  He also said that we are all sinners and do not have the right to pass judgment on one another (Matthew 7:1-5). John 8:7-11 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery being condemned to die. See how Jesus responds.  The apostle Paul also warned against taking revenge for a wrong done (Romans 12:17-21, 1 Thessalonians 5:15). Likewise, the apostle Peter warned us not to repay evil with evil (1 Peter 3:9).

What does the Catechism say?  2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined.. the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives... If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority should limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.  What does this mean?