Most of the commentators on Pope Francis’ attempt to declare the death penalty immoral per se recognize that his utter novelty is a blatant contradiction of Sacred Scripture (both the Old and New Testaments) and the constant teaching of the Church for two millennia. A few, however, such as this one, argue that Francis’ revised § 2267 of the Catechism of John Paul II is merely “a distressingly ambiguous text which will certainly tend to create an impression of rupture,” but that “it need not be read that way.”Really? But where is the ambiguity? According to Francis, quoting only himself...