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Pope Francis calls death penalty ‘unacceptable,’ urges abolition
20,2018 by Admintatrt
Pope Francis (CNSYPaul Harng)
By Laura Ieraci Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis came out squarely against the death penalty once again, calling it
4 " regardless of the seri the crime of thi
Pope Francis met with a three-person delegation of the ional C
inst the Death Penalty
March 20, and issued a letter on the occasion urging worldwide abolition.
Citing his previous messages against the death penalty, the pope called capital punishment “cruel, inhumane and
degrading” and said it “does not bring justice to the victims, but only foments revenge.”
Furthermore, in a modern “state of law, the death penalty represents a failure” because it obliges the state to kill
in the name of justice, the pope said. Rather, itis a method frequently used by “totalitarian regimes and fanatical
groups” to do away with “political dissidents, minorities” and any other person deemed a threat to their power and
to their goals.
“Human justice is imperfect,” he said, and the death penalty loses all legitimacy within penal systems where
judicial error is possible.
Increasingly, public opinion is against the death penalty, in view of the effective means available today to restrain
a criminal without denying them the possibility to redeem themselves and of a “greater moral sensitiv
the value of human life,” Pope Francis said,
regarding
‘The death penalty is an affront to the sanctity of life and to the dignity of the human person, he said. It contradicts
God's plan for humankind and society and God’s merciful justice, he added.
Capital punishment “is cruel, inhuman and degrading, as is the anxiety that precedes the moment of execution
and the terrible wait th d the application of the punishment, a ‘torture’ which, in the name of
a just process, usually lasts many years and, in awaiting death, leads to sickness and insanity.”
‘The pope went on to say that the application of capital punishment denies the condemned the possibility of
making reparation for the wrong committed, of expressing their interi ion through confession, and
expressing contrition, so as to encounter God's merciful and saving love.
Speaking about life imprisonment, Pope Francis said such sentences makes it impossible for a prisoner to “project
a future” and in that way can be considered a “disguised death” as it deprives prisoners not only of their freedom
but also of their hope.
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