What is the Church's position on torture?

[Sherlock]

I am wondering what the Church’s position is regarding torture—not of combatants in a war, but of terrorists. I ask because if it is an intrinisic evil, then it cannot be justified, ever. If, however, it is NOT an intrinsic evil, then in a “ticking time bomb” scenario involving a terrorist, is it permitted to torture a terrorist in order to save innocents? Would it be simply a choice between a lesser or greater evil? I am not interested in an assessment of the likelihood of such a scenario; I am interested in the principles involved.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror; by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They are morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it is gravely against justice and charity. Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity. Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law (CCC 2297).

What is clear here is that the Church opposes torture. And, in fact, Renato Cardinal Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, recently stated that “The Church does not allow torture as a means to extract the truth” and noted that those who are tortured “sometimes say what the torturers want to hear” rather than stating the truth (the obtaining of which is alleged by some to justify torture in the first place) source]. This is not an official Church declaration on the matter – the comments constitute the cardinal’s personal opinion – but it should be given the weight one would give to the educated analysis of someone who has been intimately involved in studying the Church’s position on the issue.

What is not so clear is a definition of what constitutes torture. What constitutes “physical or moral violence”? Sleep deprivation? Uncomfortable but not dangerous heat or cold? Loud music? Should these physical pressures be included in the same category as “waterboarding” or mind games? That is something the Church has not yet defined and for which we may hope that a definition may be forthcoming.

Recommended reading:

Is torture ever morally justifiable?
What About Torture? by Jimmy Akin