The Church has always taught that lawful state authority has the right to use capital punishment when circumstances warrant. That is, in order to redress a wrong and to protect the common good, a state may legitimately invoke its ultimate recourse to the death penalty. As a result, capital punishment is not per se immoral and as a political question is subject to the prudential judgment of faithful Catholics. Nevertheless, the conditions of modern society have rendered it more and more difficult to envision circumstances in which it would be justified. Apart from the very serious questions of identifying offenders accurately and the disproportionate number of racial minorities who receive the death penalty, in order to endorse capital punishment one would need to demonstrate that bloodless means, such as lifetime prison sentences, are insufficient to protect society against even the most aggressive offenders. Moreover, the "culture of death" that characterizes our society today warrants an even more cautious approach to capital punishment, since it may further contribute to a culture that already fails to appreciate the profound dignity of every human life.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Capital Punishment, the Church's Teaching
- Archbishop Chaput: We need to abolish the death penalty
