Pope Francis called for Christians to pray for an end to the death penalty in America. The Pope has condemned executions before but has rarely singled out a specific nation. While the Vatican itself abolished the death penalty in 1969, the issue has remained controversial in Catholic circles. For the vast majority of Church history, executions were considered legitimate.
In a statement to his 50 million X followers, the Pontiff said “Let us pray that their sentences may be commuted, changed,” he continued. “Let us think of these brothers and sisters of ours and ask the Lord for the grace to save them from death.” He added that he wanted his followers should pray “for those on death row in the United States.”
Over the history of the Catholic Church, hundreds of people were executed on orders of the Vatican. The Church Doctors, influential thinkers who form the bedrock of Catholic doctrine, view execution as a legitimate form of punishment. Important figures from Saint Ambrose to Augustine to Thomas Aquinas to Robert Bellarmine to Alphonsus Liguori all held that capital punishment was a vital function of the courts.
Over the last 25 years, the Holy See has shifted from its traditional perspective. John Paul II wrote in 1995 that leaders should “not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity,” adding that, in the modern world, “such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent.” The Vatican no longer views capital punishment as appropriate in the modern world.
In a recent statement on the issue, Church officials wrote “increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes” and that more subtle methods of punishment have been introduced, “which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”
Pope Francis has forged ahead of his predecessors. He believes that capital punishment is “contrary to the gospel” and “inadmissible.” The Vatican’s doctrinal congregation, a body designed to safeguard Catholic moral teaching, announced that the new perspective on capital punishment “expresses an authentic development of doctrine that is not in contradiction with the prior teachings of the Magisterium.”
It is important to note that the Pontiff has not declared death row to be inherently evil, which would fly in the face of previous teachings. This means that devout Catholics can disagree with the Pontiff without defying the Church at large. Other controversial issues, like abortion or euthanasia, are not up for discussion. Cardinal Ratzinger, addressed the distinction 10 years ago; ” [there can be]a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.”
He explained further that, “if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion.” This freedom is not extended to issues such as abortion or Medically Assisted Suicide.