DOES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT VIOLATE THE GOSPEL?

According to Pope Francis, the death penalty does violate the Gospel. Therefore, he recently amended the Catechism of the Catholic Church with the following text:

·       …there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

·       Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-pope-francis-changes-catechism-to-declare-death-penalty-inadmissib

I think that this amendment is partially correct. There is a dignity that humanity retains, having been created in the likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). This requires us to treat all humanity justly and caringly. For example, James had warned:

·       With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:9-10 ESV)

James did not distinguish between the righteous and unrighteous, the good and the bad. Instead, he recognized our common humanity and argued for civility towards all.

However, this dignity was never intended to shield the criminal from prosecution. Instead, it was this dignity that held us to a higher moral standard of holiness. This principle is so plain, that it hardly needs any defense. The Hebrew Scriptures required the death sentence for a number of crimes. God held humanity to such a high standard that justice had to prevail. When humanity failed to uphold justice, God eventually dispensed the death penalty on His own for the good of His prize creations.

Did the Gospel repeal the death penalty? We find no indications of this. Instead, through the hearts of men, God had ordained government and the criminal justice system to restrain criminality:

·       Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:1-4)

The “governing authorities” were meant to be a “terror” against crime. They were to carry a lethal “sword” and serve as God’s “avenger.” Even after the Cross, there are numerous examples of God taking life, even the lives of His believing people (Acts 5; 1 Corinthians 11:30) despite their “dignity.”

Even Jesus affirmed the death penalty:

·       “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’” (Matthew 15:3-4)

In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus also affirmed the right of self-defense, without making any exception for the taking of a life:

·       “But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.” (Matthew 24:43)

Jesus didn’t require the “master of the house” to stop short of taking a life. In fact, if his family had been attacked by several men, there is an understanding that lethal force might be necessary to stop them (Exodus 22:2).

Despite the “dignity” of humanity, Jesus will be taking many lives when He returns:

·       “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

Nevertheless, this will prepare the way for eternal peace:

·       “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)