The Holy See (the Vatican) advocates on behalf of all life, including the condemned. Below is a list of recent papal statements relating to Catholic teaching on the death penalty.
By Linda Bordoni
Read the death penalty section of "Fratelli Tutti," the latest papal encyclical released by Pope Francis on the subject of fraternity and social friendship.
"Thank you, Lord, for the witness of those who inflicted suffering and who ask for forgiveness; for the witness of those who suffered unjustly and who forgive. This is only possible with your help and presence… this is already a great sign of your desire to restore peace and harmony in this land of Colombia."
On Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018 Pope Francis' General Audience highlighted the role of sin in violating our relationship with God and neighbor alike. "Sin breaks: it breaks the relationship with God and it breaks the relationship with brethren, the relationship in the family, in society and in the community: Sin always breaks, separates, divides." Restorative justice emphasizes the call repair relationships broken by harm and wrongdoing.
On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, while speaking on the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis chose to make an unequivocal statement: The death penalty... "is, in itself, contrary to the Gospel" and that it "heavily wounds human dignity."
“There is no fitting punishment without hope! Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment.”
A selection of three Papal quotes on the death penalty.
