Posted on 10/23/2014 1:37:07 PM PDT by Gamecock
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment, and denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice.
"It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital punishment to defend peoples' lives from an unjust aggressor," the pope said Oct. 23 in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law.
All Christians and people of good will are thus called today to struggle not only for abolition of the death penalty, whether it be legal or illegal and in all its forms, but also to improve prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons deprived of their liberty. And this, I connect with life imprisonment," he said. "Life imprisonment is a hidden death penalty."
The pope noted that the Vatican recently eliminated life inprisonment from its own penal code.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, cited by Pope Francis in his talk, "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," but modern advances in protecting society from dangerous criminals mean that "cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."
The pope said that, although a number of countries have formally abolished capital punishment, "the death penalty, illegally and to a varying extent, is applied all over the planet," because "extrajudicial executions" are often disguised as "clashes with offenders or presented as the undesired consequences of the reasonable, necessary and proportionate use of force to apply the law."
The pope denounced the detention of prisoners without trial, who he said account for more than 50 percent of all incarcerated people in some countries. He said maximum security prisons can be a form of torture, since their "principal characteristic is none other than external isolation," which can lead to "psychic and physical sufferings such as paranoia, anxiety, depression and weight loss and significantly increase the chance of suicide."
He also rebuked unspecified governments involved in kidnapping people for "illegal transportation to detention centers in which torture is practiced."
The pope said criminal penalties should not apply to children, and should be waived or limited for the elderly, who "on the basis of their very errors can offer lessons to the rest of society. We don't learn only from the virtues of saints but also from the failings and errors of sinners."
Pope Francis said contemporary societies overuse criminal punishment, partially out of a primitive tendency to offer up "sacrificial victims, accused of the disgraces that strike the community."
The pope said some politicians and members of the media promote "violence and revenge, public and private, not only against those responsible for crimes, but also against those under suspicion, justified or not."
He denounced a growing tendency to think that the "most varied social problems can be resolved through public punishment ... that by means of that punishment we can obtain benefits that would require the implementation of another type of social policy, economic policy and policy of social inclusion."
Using techniques similar to those of racist regimes of the past, the pope said, unspecified forces today create "stereotypical figures that sum up the characteristics that society perceives as threatening."
Pope Francis concluded his talk by denouncing human trafficking and corruption, both crimes he said "could never be committed without the complicity, active or passive, of public authorities."
The pope spoke scathingly about the mentality of the typical corrupt person, whom he described as conceited, unable to accept criticism, and prompt to insult and even persecute those who disagree with him.
"The corrupt one does not perceive his own corruption. It is a little like what happens with bad breath: someone who has it hardly ever realizes it; other people notice and have to tell him," the pope said. "Corruption is an evil greater than sin. More than forgiveness, this evil needs to be cured."
Might be an interesting argument if death row inmates didn't typically outlive many of their jurors. But seriously? What capital murderer has ever had fewer than three years [minimum] to repent of his crimes?
My brother lived in Mexico for a couple of years. The word down there is that “officially” there is no life imprisonment nor death penalty. But there are a lot of unsuccessful prison escapees who die from lead poisoning.
I wish Pope Francis would stick to preaching Catholic Doctrine.
A good iteration of which is in the Catholic Catechism, which puts equal emphasis on the DUTY of the state authorities to protect society from unjust aggressors,and to use the death penalty when necessary, and otherwise,m when possible, to isolate aggressors from society via life imprisonment.
I read somewhere --- and I can't find the source, google though I may, so somebody help me if you can find the source --- I read somewhere on the internet that 500 people are murdered every year --- by perpetrators who have already been convicted on at least one previous homicide -- in California alone
So much for a state that does not have, IN PRACTICE, life imprisonment without parole.
Many homiciders live in confidence that they will NEVER get a genuine life sentence because of
The system is criminal in itself.
This is the mindset which results in not reporting pedophile priests to the police.
The Bible doesn't give time limits. As I said, I understand the reasoning, but I don't agree with a total condemnation of executions. From a Christian standpoint, anything involving killing people has to be taken very seriously, because eternal souls are involved.
Okay, you've got a murderer ... he killed X people. Those people can't be brought back; they're either saved or not, based on what they believed and did before their death. However, the killer is still "pending." Is it merciful to keep him "pending"? Maybe it is; maybe he'll repent. On the other hand, maybe he will continue to harm others.
Well then you have a short memory. The death penalty is not intrinsically evil according to Catholic teaching. Pope Francis’ pronouncements can’t change that.
Liberals feel all morally superior for showing “mercy” to criminals but they totally ignore the thousands of victims they create when the let the violent criminals out of prison. As we fought against this, we learned that most violent criminals re-offend when let out of prison no matter how much was spent on rehab programs.
We reformed liberalism in the courts with mandatory sentencing, which is not perfect, but better that it was when they had total control and killed us without a care.
The Church has always been against murder, remember it is one of God's top ten things we can not do, and whether it is done by the state or an individual it can not be condoned. As for imprisonment there is no Godly sanction against it and the Pope is wrong in my opinion to limit it in any way.
This man is an ass.
And in other news life of murderer more sacred than those they murder - sometimes in the most heinous ways ....
It costs around $50,000 a year to imprison someone in California.
It’s questionable whether a human life can be balanced against money. But many of the states are going broke, and one reason is all those lifers who have to be given their prison privileges, such as sex-change operations and big-screen TV.
And the solution is not what California and other states have done, to let dangerous criminals out on the streets before their time is up, when they are certain to rob, mug, steal, or kill again.
The Catholic Church has opposed the death penalty for some time, but it is a prudential decision, not an absolute law.
You do realize that the article is from Catholic News Service, right?
So?
I’m against the death penalty, but I am for life imprisonment without parole as an acceptable alternative. There are some who will always be dangerous to society.
See post #55
No, once people are dead, they’re dead. They are no longer “pending” in terms of their eternal destiny.
On the other hand, the future actions of a killer are indeterminate until they happen, and preventing further evil is a major reason for executions.
Are you trying to tell me that you think the Catholic news media got it wrong too?
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