The U.S. government is scheduled to execute four death row inmates within a six-week period starting December 9.
The number of death row inmates scheduled is in stark contrast to the mere three executions that have taken place by the federal government since the death penalty was restored in 1988. All executions will take place at the federal facility in Terre Haute, Indiana.
In March of this year, Governor Newsom announced a moratorium on executions for California’s 767 death row inmates, citing the possibility that one of them could be innocent. Just this year, three death row inmates were exonerated for their crimes and released.
In his piece Echoes of an Empty Death Chamber – What Is It Telling Us?, Fr. Stephen Barber, S.J., who served in the chaplain’s office of San Quentin State Prison from 1996 to 2011, praised the Governor’s move and recounted his experience during the last three executions that took place there.
“In virtually every condemned man, I realized that the ongoing work of God remained, as it does for us all, unfinished,” Fr. Barber wrote.
Click here to sign the Catholic Mobilizing Network’s petition to stop the executions.
Full story at California Catholic Conference.
Sign the petition, folks. It is the right thing–the Catholic thing to do–for the Magisterium, in total harmony with Scripture and Tradition, definitely teach that the death penalty is morally inadmissible in our time. This is a teaching most ardently proclaimed by Pope St. John Paul II, continued by popes Benedict and Francis, and all of the present bishops of the Catholic Church. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
The death penalty is not intrinsically evil. Therefore it is universally acceptable in principle and may be employed when justified.
Anonymous: Nobody here has said that the death penalty is an intrinsic evil. However, neither is it an intrinsic good: as if the death penalty were something that must be considered good at all times, in all places, regardless of the circumstance. That is flat wrong. WRONG! The fact that there are now bloodless ways to protect society and to deter a criminal (life in prison) negates, VITIATES, the goodness and efficacy of the death penalty. JP2 taught this; and now Benedict and Francis have continued this teaching, and so have all the bishops of the Church. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
All of us who are pro-life should sign this petition.
YFC I will sign this after you admit to this page that sodomy and gay “marriage” are incompatabile with the Church’s moral teaching
”767 death row inmates, citing the possibility that one of them could be innocent.”. Gov. Newcomers, any comment on the thousands of “innocent” unborn murdered EVERY DAY??
Why Newsom is against the death penalty is a no brainer, and it is NOT to protect the innocent.
Pope Innocent I in 405
“It must be remembered that power was granted by God, and to avenge crime the sword was permitted; he who carries out this vengeance is God’s minister. What motive have we for condemning a practice that all hold to be permitted by God? (Innocent 1, Epist. 6, C. 3. 8, ad Exsuperium, Episcopum Tolosanum, 20 February 405, PL 20,495)
Pope Innocent III in 1210
The secular power can without mortal sin carry out a sentence of death, provided it proceeds in imposing the penalty not from hatred but with judgment, not carelessly but with due solicitude. (Innocent III, DS 795/425)
Pope Paul III, 1534-1549
Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry VIII in 1538, and opened the Council of
Trent in 1545. “…The punishments to be meted out were specified: imprisonment, execution, and confiscation of goods in the case of those condemned to death.” Papal Bull, Licet ab Initio, 1542
Pope Julius III 1550-1555
As a young man Julius was imprisoned on “death row” during the sack of Rome by mercenaries of Emperor Charles VII. Later as a cardinal he tried to persuade convicts to repent but still enforced the death penalty many times.
Pope Pius IV 1559-1565
Reconvened the Council of Trent and shepherded it to conclusion. Pope Pius IV made full use of the death penalty.
Pope Saint Pius V 1566 – 1572
Saint Pius V implemented the reforms of the Council of Trent including the Roman Catechism and promulgated the 1570 Roman Missal used until 1970.
His papal bull of July 13,1566 threatened the death penalty for all who dared to give shelter to murderers or outlaws. Pope Pius V oversaw many executions.
The Roman Catechism of Trent on the Execution of Criminals:
…“The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder.” …
Pope Sixtus V 1585-1590 , The Iron Pope
He launched a much needed anti-crime campaign resulting in over 7,000
criminals being executed.
Pope Clement VIII 1592-1605
It was during papacy of Clement VIII that Robert Cardinal Bellarmine wrote an influential book, The Art of Dying Well. Bellarmine’s approach was that the condemned man could actually be rehabilitated by his suffering and repentance, which would transform his execution into an expiation and his death could become a “good” death.
Blessed Pope Pius IX, the longest reining pope. 32 years, 1846 -1878.
Pope Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, decreed papal infallibility, and defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. He ordered several executions in the Papal States
Pope Leo XIII, 1901
“The death sentence is a necessary and efficacious means for the Church to attain its ends when rebels against it disturb the ecclesiastical unity, especially obstinate heretics who cannot be restrained by any other penalty from continuing to disturb ecclesiastical order.” – Preface to vol. 2 of “Book of Canon Law
Pope Saint Pius X in his Catechism, 1908
“ It is lawful to kill when fighting in a just war; when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment of a crime.” (Answer to question 3 – Are there cases in which it is lawful to kill?)
Pope Pius XII in 1952
“Even when it is a question of the execution of a condemned man, the State does not dispose of the individual’s right to life. In this case it is reserved to the public power to deprive the condemned person of the of life in expiation of his crime when, by his crime, he has already disposed himself of his right to live.”- An Address to the First International Congress on the Histopathology of the Nervous System.
When popes governed the Papal States, they measured out punishments including death. One papal executioner, Giovanni Battista Bugatti, served six popes, including Blessed Pius IX, and personally executed 516 felons from 1796 to 1864
https://tcreek.jimdo.com/popes/
Sorry, “Popes In Communion with”, but as much as I revere all of the popes you have quoted, none of them are members of the living Magisterium! It is the “living Magisterium”–that is, the Holy Father and the bishops united with him–who are the authentic interpreters of Scripture and Tradition for the entire Catholic Church. The death penalty was indeed morally admissible during the pontificate of Leo XIII and even as recently as that of Pius XII in 1952; but not in our time.
I should add to my comment above, that “the living Magisterium is the authentic interpreter of Scripture and Tradition for the entire Church IN OUR TIME.”
Gotta love the situational ethics of Innocent III
Avery Cardinal Dulles, 2004
“The reversal of a doctrine as well established as the legitimacy of capital punishment would raise serious problems regarding the credibility of the magisterium. Consistency with scripture and long-standing Catholic tradition is important for the grounding of many current teachings of the Catholic Church…
Avery Cardinal Dulles, 2008 – An unpublished interview with Avery Dulles National Catholic Reporter by John L. Allen, Jr. – Dec 19, 2008.
Avery Cardinal Dulles, 2008 – An unpublished interview with Avery Dulles National Catholic Reporter by John L. Allen, Jr. – Dec 19, 2008.
Allen asked Dulles to identify the most important forces shaping the future of the Catholic church.
“Restoring clarity where there had been confusion in the period following the Second Vatican Council,” Dulles said. “Rebuilding a strong sense of Catholic identity, including a clear repudiation of the notion that church history can be divided into a ‘before’ and ‘after’ Vatican II. … Specifically, Dulles said, his hunch was that the church may ultimately return to a “more traditional posture” on both the death penalty and the idea of a “just war.” Recent popes, Dulles conceded, beginning with John XXIIII, seem to have taken quasi-abolitionist positions on both matters. Yet used sparingly and with safeguards to protect the interests of justice, Dulles argued, both the death penalty and war have, over the centuries, been recognized by the church as legitimate, sometimes even obligatory, exercises of state power.”
https://tcreek.jimdo.com/avery-cardinal-dulles/
“Popes in Communion” is so mistaken to characterize the late Cardinal Dulles as anything but supportive of the abolition of the death penalty. In the late Cardinal’s own article published in First Things in April 2001, at the end of the article–after having said all he needed to say about the subject–the Cardinal came down to support John Paul II’s call to abolish the death penalty.
Read it here folks: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2001/04/catholicism-capital-punishment
I believe there are well over 1,500 characters in the comment from ‘Popes in Communion with Peter’
What’s even more tragic about the comments from “Popes in Communion” is that they all fail to prove that the death penalty ought to be continued in our time! None of the folks he/she has quoted are members of the living Magisterium!
Trump has done so much good, more than the bishops.
Excellent talk defending capital punishment by Fr. Shannon Collins MSJB, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in the Diocese of Covington, KY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT1HMmZk9aE
One cannot be a Catholic in good standing with the Church and support capital punishment. One is either pro-life or one is not!
Jon gave us a link to an Avery Dulles article. He states:
“In light of all this it seems safe to conclude that the death penalty is not in itself a violation of the right to life. The real issue for Catholics is to determine the circumstances under which that penalty ought to be applied.” He goes on to say: “The Pope and the bishops, using their prudential judgment, have concluded that in contemporary society, at least in countries like our own, the death penalty ought not to be invoked, because, on balance, it does more harm than good. I personally support this position.” key word: “prudential judgment”.
The consistent ethic is pro-abortion, anti-capital punishment and pro-gun control. All three of these positions oppose innocent life. After all, as Marx said, there is nothing but the revolution.
Why only four of so many? I remind Peronista Bergoglians that Khalid Sheik Mohamed is safe and being fattened in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, thanks to US Military abject failure.
“Living Magisterium” is essentially saying “Changeable Truths”. This is an error and is not Catholic.
The Church has everywhere and always taught that the civil authority may execute persons guilty of grave and manifest crimes, yes, even unjustly at times: e.g. Our Lord Himself at the hands of Pilate (Jn 19:10-11).
For Church prelates, especially the Roman Pontiff, to reject a core teaching that was handed down to them is gravely scandalous and sinful.
Mr. Bill is under a misapprehension, and so are many who cling to the death penalty. The death penalty is NOT an intrinsic good to be held at all circumstances, at all times, in all places. WRONG! The morality of an action is always contingent upon the three fonts of morality, one of which is circumstances. Circumstances either mitigate or vitiate the goodness or wrongness of an action. Dust off your catechism folks, it’s all there. The existence of other means to contain a capital criminal and to protect society short of executing him VITIATES the efficacy and goodness of the death penalty. And because of that, the death penalty is morally inadmissible in our time. The popes since John Paul II–and all the current and legitimate bishops of the Church–have taught so. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life.
Jon, your answer is “Exhibit A” of the doctrinal crisis in the Church today … the confusion that reigns among so many catholics, including (sadly) many of the ordained.
Again, the Church has always and everywhere taught that legitimate civil government has the God-given right and authority to use the death penalty, if it deems it necessary.
• Please see all magisterial teachings of the Popes before John XXIII on this topic;
• See Bp. Schneider’s new book “Christus Vincit” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z5F4DFF)
• https://www.ncregister.com/images/uploads/Declaration_Truths_Errors_final_version_clean.pdf
I will pray for you.
MrBill needs to be corrected. His citations above actually contradict his position. For instance, paragraph 28 of the “Declaration of the truths” written by Cardinal Burke and Archbishop Schneider among others categorically states that the death penalty may be lawfully exercised “where this is truly necessary to preserve the existence or just order of societies.” As Pope St. John Paul II had judged, the death penalty is “cruel and unnecessary” in our time–for there are now other means to protect society. So John Paul called for its abolition. Popes Benedict and Francis continue this teaching. The only “doctrinal crisis” in the Church today are folks who refuse to abide by it, who twist it for their own interests, who are not faithful to the dogmas and teachings of the Magisterium. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
Pope John Paul II’s 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The traditional teaching of the church has acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of PENALTIES COMMENSURATE WITH THE GRAVITY OF THE CRIME, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, THE DEATH PENALTY.” (Emphasis mine.)
“A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.” Pope John Paul II at the Papal Mass in St. Louis, Missouri on January 27, 1999. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
here,here, Mr. Bill
Hear, Hear, Mr. Bill
Mr Bill: you need to read a bit more history and theology. The Church has changed its teachings on a number of issues since its founding. Think about St Paul and circumcision, usury, etc.
Our Lord: “It were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea…” Luke 17:2
Bede: “This is spoken according to the custom of the province of Palestine; for among the ancient Jews the punishment of those who were guilty of the greater crimes was that they should be sunk into the deep with a stone tied to them; and in truth it were better for a guilty man to finish his bodily life by a punishment however barbarous, yet temporal, than for his innocent brother to deserve the eternal death of his soul.”
WOW. To twist the words of Our Lord Himself—as “Popes in Communion” has done by misquoting Luke 17:2—in order to support something that the Vicar of Christ, in union with the rest of the bishops of the Church, have judged inadmissible in our time, is brazen and short of gross disobedience. It is so wrong on so many levels. But nonetheless, I’ll give “Pope in communion” the benefit of the doubt and say that he/she is sorely misguided. Folks, in order to be free from any theological or moral error, you must listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
” you must listen to the living Magisterium.” jon’s false ideas to undermine Church Tradition and teachings
Folks, and that includes “bohemond”: if you stay close to the teachings of the Magisterium (that’s the Pope and all the bishops in union with him)–who are the only authentic interpreters of Scripture and Tradition for our time–then you will never fear to “undermine” Church tradition and teachings. Be assured of that.
Jerome: “When it is said, ‘It is better for him that a mill-stone be hanged about his neck’, He [Our Lord] speaks according to the custom of the province; for among the Jews this was the punishment of the greater criminals, to drown them by a stone tied to them. It is better for him, because it is far better to receive a brief punishment for a fault [that is, capital punishment], than to be reserved for eternal torments.”
St. Thomas Aquinas:
It is written: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Ex. 22:18); and: “In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land” (Ps. 100:8). …
Every part is directed to the whole, as imperfect to perfect, wherefore every part exists naturally for the sake of the whole. For this reason we see that if the health of the whole human body demands the excision of a member, because it became putrid or infectious to the other members, it would be both praiseworthy and healthful to have it cut away. Now every individual person is related to the entire society as a part to the whole. Therefore if a man be dangerous and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and healthful that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good, since “a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6).
(Summa Theologiae, II, II, q. 64, art. 2)
By quoting Aquinas, “Popes in Communion” is proving the point of John Paul II, the living Magisterium, as well as the rest of us who call for the end of the death penalty. The Angelic Doctor only gives one reason for the execution of sinner/evil-doer: that is, for the protection of the rest of society. He makes this clear in Summa Theologiae, II, II, q. 64, art. 3. HOWEVER, once there are other means to protect society from a sinner, short of executing him, the death penalty is not longer admissible. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!
St. Thomas Aquinas:
The fact that the evil ones, as long as they live, can be corrected from their errors does not prohibit that they may be justly executed, for the danger which threatens from their way of life is greater and more certain than the good which may be expected from their improvement.
They also have at that critical point of death the opportunity to be converted to God through repentance. And if they are so obstinate that even at the point of death their heart does not draw back from malice, it is possible to make a quite probable judgment that they would never come away from evil.”
(Summa contra gentiles, Book III, chapter 146)
One can cherry pick quotes from popes in support of capital punishment, however, we have one Lord…Jesus Christ…who is King of the Universe. Our Lord himself was a victim of an unjust application of the death penalty. There was no evidence to support the trumped up charges against him. This same type of scenario continues on even to this day. In many cases in the USA, innocent people have been put to death. Surely God cries out against this injustice.
And there was plenty of evidence against the likes of a John Wayne Gacy who got what he deserved
Warm up old sparky!
“For the holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by his revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by his assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or deposit of faith transmitted by the apostles.”
-First Vatican Council
Exactly: Beginning with Pope St. John Paul II and continuing on with Popes Benedict and Francis along with the rest of the bishops of the Church, the living Magisterium is religiously guarding and faithfully expounding the Catholic Faith concerning the inviolability and dignity of all human life, including those who are condemned. Listen to the living Magisterium. Respect life!