Pope Francis Tells Philadelphia Inmates ‘All of Us Have Something We Need to Be Cleansed of’ – ABC News
For if we do away with death penalty, why not do away with other punishments as well???
As for its abolition in order to give the guilty a chance to “redeem himself”, I would love to follow the thinking of the Angelic Doctor, that death sentence can be expiatory, something that can lessen the guilty’s duration on Purgatory:
“Even death inflicted as a punishment for crimes takes away the whole punishment for those crimes in the next life, or at least part of that punishment, according to the quantities of guilt, resignation, and contrition; but a natural death does not.”
As for the “dignity” of those guilty of murder (which I maintain na dapat lang ibitay), Pope Pius XII emphasized the traditional Catholic teaching that the State has the right to execute a murderer; he has taken away his own dignity by shedding innocent blood. The right of the State to resort to death penalty has Scriptural and Magisterial backing.
And since thats the case, we shouldnt frown at capital punishment as if it is intrinsically evil like abortion, because it is not.
While it is true that the Church recognizes the right of the state to imposed death penalty but She does so only permissively under very strict circumstances as stated “if this is THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY (emphasis mine) of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor”(CCC 2267).
The ordinary and prescriptive way to redress injustice when heinous crimes are committed is what is stated in the next paragraph: “If, however, NON-LETHAL MEANS (emphasis mine) are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.”
In the paragraph which follows, the Church expresses her assessment of the modern day situation “Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm – without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself – the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “ARE VERY RARE, IF NOT PRACTICALLY NONEXISTENT.” (emphasis mine)”68
Thus the burden of proof falls on the state (and on those who are in favor of the imposition of death penalty) to prove that indeed imposing death penalty is the ONLY POSSIBLE WAY otherwise we should be against its imposition by the State. Also, Pope Francis is the competent authority to determine whether the strict conditions by which death penalty may be temporarily tolerated are present. But based on the Pope’s judgment they are not and the Pope does not have to speak “ex cathedra” or make a “dogmatic pronouncement” for us to submit to him.
This I think is tantamount to saying that death penalty is intrinsically evil, which makes his view contrary to the perennial teaching of the Church that death penalty is NOT evil in and of itself. If we are going to take his words as endowed with magisterial authority, then Catholicism would not be what it claims it is. Whatever happened to consistency of doctrine? If this is the “latest development of thought” about capital punishment, then I respectfully disagree with Christ’s vicar. I believe that The Pope, despite his authority, has no power to change teachings thats so well-established such as this. The pope must be the guarantor and preserver of Tradition, not its maker.
And it is from this premise (that it is inhuman and cruel per se) that the Pope calls for the abolishment of death penalty.
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While the Catechism is “a sure norm for teaching the Faith”, as JPII said, I dont subscribe to the notion that each and every word on the Catechism must be considered “de fide definita” since there are varying degrees of authority. As for me, I always ask the question, “Is this Catholic tradition, or a departure from it?” To treat death penalty like it is abortion or euthanasia and to base its abolishment from this view is I think a departure from it.
Prof, may I ask, are we still bound to submit our obedience to the Pope if ever he expressly departs from authentic Catholic teaching? What if for example He suddenly allows communion for Lutherans, can we say its Ok because the Pope Okays it? Hanggang saan ba tayo dapat sumunod?
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Like what I said in my first comment, while I dont want capital punishment to be fully abolished, I call for the State to be prudent and wise in inflicting it.
Thanks for sharing your views, Prof.
This statement is consistently within the parameters laid down by the CCC 2247 which says: “TODAY, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm – without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself – the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “ARE VERY RARE, IF NOT PRACTICALLY NONEXISTENT.” (emphasis mine).
Thus your conclusion that the Pope’s statement is tantamount to saying that death penalty is intrinsically evil is misplaced. It would be intrinsically evil if it is not stated within a particular context or circumstance but that is not what the Pope is saying. He is saying that death penalty is “inadmissible…. etc” in TODAY’S WORLD. i hope you get this bit of a fine line distinction. If in the judgment of the Church the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity is practically non-existent and the state still insists on imposing it then it becomes unjustifiable for the conditions for its toleration is no longer present.
Counterpoint:
[Prof. Ramon, Pope Francis has been emphatic in his stand against death penalty, that capital punishment is cruel, inhuman and an offense to the dignity of human life. There is no crime in the world, according to him, that deserves the death penalty.]
[This I think is tantamount to saying that death penalty is intrinsically evil, which makes his view contrary to the perennial teaching of the Church that death penalty is NOT evil in and of itself.]
[If we are going to take his words as endowed with magisterial authority, then Catholicism would not be what it claims it is.]
[Whatever happened to consistency of doctrine?]
[If this is the “latest development of thought” about capital punishment, then I respectfully disagree with Christ’s vicar.]
[I believe that The Pope, despite his authority, has no power to change teachings thats so well-established such as this. The pope must be the guarantor and preserver of Tradition, not its maker.]
[And it is from this premise (that it is inhuman and cruel per se) that the Pope calls for the abolishment of death penalty.]
[While the Catechism is “a sure norm for teaching the Faith”, as JPII said, I dont subscribe to the notion that each and every word on the Catechism must be considered “de fide definita” since there are varying degrees of authority.]
[As for me, I always ask the question, “Is this Catholic tradition, or a departure from it?”]
[To treat death penalty like it is abortion or euthanasia and to base its abolishment from this view is I think a departure from it.]
[Prof, may I ask, are we still bound to submit our obedience to the Pope if ever he expressly departs from authentic Catholic teaching?]
[What if for example He suddenly allows communion for Lutherans, can we say its Ok because the Pope Okays it? Hanggang saan ba tayo dapat sumunod?]
[Like what I said in my first comment, while I don’t want capital punishment to be fully abolished, I call for the State to be prudent and wise in inflicting it.]