Pope shifts teaching with call for total abolition of death penalty

Pope Francis called last Sunday for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty and urged a moratorium on executions during the jubilee year of mercy, writes Christopher Lamb.

Speaking during the Angelus, he told the crowd in St Peter’s square: “I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty.” The Pope added: “The commandment ‘You shall not kill’ has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty.”

Francis made the same call for death penalty abolition in a speech to the United States Congress last September.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the death penalty can be used if  guilt of a person has been determined and “this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against an unjust aggressor”.

But the Pope appears to be developing church teaching in this area, following the lead of Pope John Paul II, who also called for an end to capital punishment. His comments on Sunday came ahead of a conference on ending the death penalty organised by the Sant’Egidio community, a justice and peace group. The gathering was held at the Italian Parliament and attended by justice ministers from 30 countries.

They also met with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, who gave his backing to the aims of the conference. Also at the gathering was Cardinal Reinhard Marx, an expert in Catholic Social Teaching, who said he was convinced “there is no justice without life”.