Brochure of the Month

Brochure of the Month: September 2023

Death Penalty: Catholic Questions and Answers

     God doesn’t stop loving even the worst sinner. Punishment is not for the sake of vengeance, but to protect people’s safety and to contribute to the correction of the guilty party. When Cain killed Abel, God punished him, but protected him from being killed by others. The Catechism now teaches that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” (CCC, 2267)  We must “stand with victims in their hurt and in their search for healing and genuine justice.” But we cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.

 “The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform.”
--Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995

Link to the article in   :   English     /       Spanish

The articles are available at the Hospitality desk in the church, and in the AMC. 
A summary and reference for church teaching on the death penalty can be found here.