Pope Leo XIV described the death penalty as “inadmissible” in a message posted on social media on the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty on Saturday, Oct. 10.
In his post, the pontiff stated: “The death penalty is inadmissible because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person.”
He emphasized that the protection of society and the application of justice can be guaranteed without resorting to capital punishment. In this regard, he said that “the common good can be protected and the requirements of justice can be safeguarded without resorting to capital punishment: effective penitentiary systems have already been developed that protect citizens and, at the same time, do not entirely deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”
The message concluded with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty, used in international campaigns promoting the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
The Holy Father made this statement one day after the secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, criticized the planned public execution in the United States of Nidal Hasan, according to Vatican News.
Parolin stated on Oct. 9 that plans to broadcast the execution live are unacceptable. “It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to resort to this method in this day and age,” he noted.
“I do not know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. However guilty the person may be, there are other ways.”
He emphasized that the death penalty “does not serve as a deterrent.”
That same day, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, expressed his “shock and great sorrow” and urged that the decision be reconsidered.
Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding another 32 at Fort Hood in November 2009, and a military court sentenced him to death in 2013. The Pentagon announced on Thursday that his execution by firing squad is scheduled for Dec. 3, although new legal proceedings could delay it.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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