Catholic Support for the Death Penalty

[godisgood77]

Given that death is a more serious penalty than LWOP it is hard to see how they could both be commensurate; either the harsher one would be too harsh, or the lighter one would be deficient. Since we know that death is not too harsh there is every reason to believe that LWOP is inadequate.

You’re awfully binary… it’s not always A or B. LWOP is commensurate with the crime and is a just punishment… as evidenced by the fact that LWOP is often given out as a penalty for murder.

Do you grant him the authority to nullify God’s law?

No I don’t and he hasn’t

 

[mrsdizzyd]

I know this posting is older, but thank you for this! This is a clear and concise explanation of an aspect of Catholic teaching that has been confusing to me.

I think you are reading in to my comments to find more than there is.

Here goes another try…

1. Punishment of the crime is the primary meaning of any any penalty associated with a crime - no one is suggesting a change to this.
2. The Church allows the death penalty as a punishment
3. The Catechism of the Church and the teachings of St John Paul II make clear that cases where the death penalty would be allowable 'are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'
4. For Catholics, the death penalty is no longer allowable when alternatives exist… ‘this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.’ . This in no way alters the fact the punishment of the crime is the primary reason for the penalty. Instead, it adds a clear parameter for when it can be applied in terms of how a Catholic would be obligate to understand the situation.
5. The legitimate development of doctrine in this case is that the Church has deepened her teaching to reflect that the cases in which the death penalty would be allowable have been narrowed, one might say significantly, This is based on the continued learning of the Church and the progress the world has made in its ability to protect the public through detention and rehabilitation
6. So, clear as day, the Church has not changed the morality associated with society’s recourse to the death penalty… however, the Church has deepened its teaching relative to the circumstances under which the death penalty would be permissible… this has a moral implication and makes it immoral to apply the death penalty when alternatives exist.

 

[Ender]

You’re awfully binary… it’s not always A or B. LWOP is commensurate with the crime and is a just punishment… as evidenced by the fact that LWOP is often given out as a penalty for murder.

The penalties a society assesses have no particular relationship to the severity of the crime. It is no more reasonable to assert that LWOP is a just punishment for murder because it is often applied today than to argue that hanging was a just penalty for stealing food when it was applied in Dickensian England.

Ender:

Do you grant him the authority to nullify God’s law?

godisgood77:

No I don’t and he hasn’t

God rather plainly said that death was the proper punishment for murder, and he further explained that this was because the victim was made in his own image. This understanding was held by the church for 2000 years, but your interpretation of EV is that God’s words have now been modified. God neglected to add the part about the necessity for protection.

The problem is, the victim is still made in God’s image, and God’s own justification for the penalty relates to the victim and the nature of the crime, not the nature of the society in which he lives.