Pope Francis has said the death penalty is “inadmissible” and that the Catholic church would work for its abolition across the world. Capital punishment was “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, Francis said in a change to Catholic teaching. The church previously viewed the death penalty, carried out by a legitimate authority after a fair trial, as an “appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good”, according to a Vatican statement.
But it said there was an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person was not lost even after “the commission of very serious crimes”. More effective systems of detention could ensure the protection of citizens without depriving “the guilty of the possibility of redemption”. Pope Francis has previously spoken out against the death penalty, saying last year it “heavily wounds human dignity” and is an inhuman measure. Capital punishment was “in itself, contrary to the Gospel”, he said.(theguardian)…[+]