Pope Francis declares death penalty inadmissible in all cases
Posted on August 2nd, 2018
Pope Francis has changed the teachings of the Catholic faith to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, the Vatican has said.
The Catechism of the Church, which sums up the teachings, had previously stated that the death penalty could be used in some cases.
It now says it is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”.
Pope Francis has in the past spoken out against executions.
Last October, he had said the Church’s policy on the death penalty was one area where teaching was not static and could change with modern concerns.
The text of the catechism was first set by Pope John Paul II in October 1992.
The teachings had earlier stated that the death penalty was an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good”.
However, the new text says there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes”.
It also argues that today’s more effective detention methods protect citizens and do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption”.
The Church will now work with determination for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, a statement from the Holy See said.
Historically, the Church has mostly been unopposed to the death penalty, including into the 20th Century. In 1952, Pope Pius XII said it was not a violation of the universal right to life.
Pope John Paul II argued for imprisonment over execution wherever possible, although Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, wrote that the death penalty could be permissible.
Source: BBC
August 3rd, 2018 at 5:04 am
Pope does not know our situation. Cocaine come in container loads and the dealers they say are ministers or the prime minister in the case of previous government. The only way is to hang a few. Even the big wigs will be afraid then. Follow Singapore example. Announce in the arriving aircraft that the punishment for drug trafficking is death.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:20 am
Crime and Punishment
Crime and punishments is the responsibility of the community / society. It is part and parcel of our social contract that gives its members affordable security and freedom. Those who violate that must pay the price or be outcasts. It depends on what the social structure can afford. Price and what determines expulsion must be left to the ruler and the ruled to determine – not some power far removed from that society and culture!
It is in this midst that the rich western countries have brought in a new weapon call Human Rights to castigate poor societies that can ill afford such luxuries. The effort is obviously to bring in line any country that falls out of line with the Western Agenda for exploitation and plunder. Each society must be given a chance to define its human rights within its means. Right now many countries have come to understand what Western Human Rights means and what the insistence for their implementation means. It is also quite obvious and clear to the whole world that it is the very same advocates of these high flaunted values who so blatantly and unashamedly violate them time and time again quite unconcerned whether their acts are seen or not.
Crime and punishment is not the province of religion. A Religion can pronounce what is right and wrong as per what is prescribed by their teachers or written in ancient books. However, those should not infringe on the ruler and the ruled of a society. They can educate the society to refrain from what is morally wrong and right and what is good for this world and thereafter as per their vision.
Although Lord Buddha advised many a king and ruler, He never dictated what to do and not.There were no commandments. He only showed the better way. When King Bimbisara one of Lord Buddha’s close friend and benefactors was imprisoned by his son and later allowed to die in prison, He never intervened.
On the other hand, western religions such as Christianity and Islam have given their religious dictates the force of law in the countries they rule and colonized. Even much of present day law finds its sources in these religious texts. With this idiocy they have committed much crime which continue to this day in one form or the other. By barging into simple things such as marriage laws, abortion laws and you name it, these religions are now mired in quagmires of their own making. They are unable to extricate themselves from the blame and the society to which they administer wise counsel from destroying themselves.
We all know that punishment is a deterrent that works and we must exercise that in a way that is practical, economical and as demanded by the people without being constrained by straight jackets imposed by the so called International Community. If all countries so affected take steps in unison it will not be a matter of impossibility to fight through and win.