Information on Capital Punishment

There is little doubt that the issue of capital punishment, or imposition of the death penalty, is a difficult topic for many Catholics today.  We must, however, try to see the death penalty as an injustice against the sanctity of life.  The attack does not stop with the life of the criminal, which as difficult as that may be for us to comprehend, is precious in the eyes of God, but reaches to each and every one of us.  If we take on the widespread mindset that some people deserve death, we get out of the habit of remembering that they are precious in God’s eyes, that they too can receive forgiveness from God and the grace to amend their lives.

    The U.S. Catholic Bishops have stated in “Confronting a Culture of Violence,” the following:

     “Increasingly, our society looks to violent measures to deal with some of our most difficult social problems…including increased reliance on the death penalty to deal with crime…Violence is not the solution; it is the most clear sign of our failures…We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.”

     Take a moment to consider these words from the Indiana Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Roman Catholic Church (a link is provided below through Priests for Life):

      It is our best judgement as pastors and lay members of the Church who are devoted to defending life that capital punishment will only serve to inflame the culture of violence that is already too prevalent in our state.  We believe that capital punishment undermines the sacredness of human life.  It fails to combat crime effectively and doesn’t contribute to building a society that is free from crime.  Furthermore, it neither helps the victims who survive not does it mitigate the loss of the victims who do not…We know of no evidence that the death penalty has in fact deterred violence and crime in those states where it has been restored, and therefore,  we do not believe that the circumstances of our day provide sufficient moral justification for the death penalty.

    We direct you to several sources/sites of information:

    Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 2266-2267

    The Gospel of Life (Evangelicum Vitae)

    www.nccbuscc.org/sdwp/projects/violence/

    www.indianacc.org/notables/death.html

    www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/indianadeathpenalty.htm