The three Roman Catholic authors of the commentary "Death penalty represents broken system of justice" (Oct. 19) present some good practical arguments in favor of abolishing the death penalty in Missouri and elsewhere: for instance, the danger of mistaken verdicts and the present system's inbuilt discrimination against the poor.
However, they cross a line for Catholics when they say the death penalty "violates the God-given dignity of the human person." That implies capital punishment is immoral, always and everywhere. But such a claim contradicts Sacred Scripture and 2,000 years of Catholic teaching.
The New Testament teaches the right of civil authority to execute criminals (Romans 13:4), and God tells us in the first book of the Bible that human dignity is precisely what justifies the death penalty: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has man been made” (Genesis 9:6).
All previous popes and approved Catholic catechisms have therefore taught that capital punishment is not immoral in principle.
Unfortunately, the authors are able to quote Pope Francis in support of their position. He recently said the death penalty is always wrong because “it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person.” However, we Catholics are not required to accept everything a pope says as infallible; and since the present Holy Father has here contradicted all his predecessors, we should believe, with all due respect, that the mistake is on his part, not theirs.
Rev. Brian W. Harrison • St. Louis
