Pope Francis Changes the Catechism to Declare the Death Penalty 'Inadmissible'

Diane Montagna : Aug 2, 2018
LifeSiteNews.com

In an explanatory letter to bishops, dated August 1 and approved by Pope Francis on June 28, Archbishop Ladaria argued on the basis of the teaching of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI that Pope Francis' "reformulation" of the Catechism represents an "authentic development of doctrine that is not in contradiction with the prior teachings of the Magisterium."

(Rome)— [LifeSiteNews.com] Pope Francis has revised the 1992 Catechism promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II, to teach that the death penalty is "inadmissible" and that the Church "works with determination for its abolition worldwide." (Photo: Pope Francis/ Creative Commons-Pixabay)

In a rescript, or papal decree, issued this morning, the Pope has replaced n. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church with the following text:

The death penalty

2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person",[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.

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[1] FRANCIS, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: L'Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017, 5.

Number 2267 of the 1992 Catechism, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, came under the subheading "legitimate defense," and read:

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor...

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