At a UN committee meeting devoted to the promotion and protection of human rights, a leading Vatican diplomat called for the abolition of the death penalty.
Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that the defense of human life must be “consistent and universal, extending to every person, at every stage and in every circumstance.”
“For this reason, ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’” he said, citing the 2018 revision to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “This God-given dignity is never forfeited, no matter the gravity of the crime. Advances in penal systems now allow States to protect society effectively without foreclosing the possibility of repentance and redemption.”
“The Holy See is encouraged by the fact that many States have abolished the death penalty in law or established moratorium,” he added in his October 7 statement. “States that retain the death penalty should consider establishing, without delay, a moratorium on executions as a step towards abolition.”