Vatican Says Death Penalty Is "Affront to Human Dignity"

In a position paper issued this month during the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris, the Vatican said that the death penalty "is not only a refusal of the right to life, but it also is an affront to human dignity." Echoing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the paper noted that while governments have an obligation to protect their citizens, "today it truly is difficult to justify" using capital punishment when other means of protection, such as life in prison, are possible. The Vatican also gave support to all international campaigns to proclaim a moratorium on the use of capital punishment and the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

"The Holy See takes this occassion to welcome and affirm again its support for all initiatives aimed at defending the inherent and inviolable value of all human life . . . . Consciences have been awakened by the need for a great recognition of the inalienable dignity of human beings and by the universality and integrity of human rights, beginning with the right to life," the Vatican stated. The Holy See added that the death penalty carries "numerous risks," including the danger of punishing innocent people, and that capital punishment promotes "violent forms of revenge rather than a true sense of social justice." The paper concluded that the death penalty contributes to a "culture of violence" and that for Christians it shows "a contempt for the Gospel teaching on forgiveness."
(Catholic News Service, February 7, 2007). See New Voices and Religion.