A History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty - Research Paper Example

Introduction This is the age of revolution and change. We see changes occurring in every field of life. Along with other fields, the time has seen a significant shift on the stance of the Catholic Church on death penalty. In the past, there seemed to be a great disparity between the catholic teaching and its stance on the death penalty. Both the old and the new testaments hold a firm belief that human beings are “created in Gods image and redeemed by Jesus Christ, who himself was executed between two criminals”. Human life has been termed as a priceless gift from God. But Despite preaching immense love and respect for humanity, Catholicism exhibited extreme views on the death penalty. Going back to the earliest times, Christianity adhered to the concept of vengeance instead of forgiveness. “An eye for an eye, life for life, limb for limb” had been the doctrine of olden times Christianity. This was the doctrine of the churches and all the popes had been following it until The Church published its approved catechism in 1992 for the first time in over four centuries. Pope John Paul II described death penalty in these words: "the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty." Wilton D.Gregory further elaborates the 1992 text in these words in his essay “the church’s evolving views on the death penalty” “The 1992 text then asserts that "the primary effect of punishment is to redress the disorder caused by the offense." Finally, it states, "If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person." The second publication came in Latin in 1997 and to its readers’ surprise the second version of catechism contained a significant change in the definition of the death penalty. But even before that Pope John Paul II issued a letter titled “ON Human Life” (Evangelium Vitae, 1995). The letter emphasized on the importance of the human life and reverence. It also arose many moral issues related to the death penalty. Although Pop John Paul had been favoring the death penalty as per the Capital Laws in the past but this new shift surprised the Church’s followers to a great extent. Finally in the 1997 version death penalty was acceptable only in the extreme case of protecting one from the aggressor. Wilton states that “The new text, based on John Paul IIs moral analysis, maintains that ["the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."]”. The 1997 publication was in sharp contrast with the Capital law that was following the death sentence as a punishment. History shows that the recent change in the church’s stance is deeply influenced by the views of Pop John Paul II. Human beings and humanity have been given a higher stature and death penalty has been termed justified only in extreme cases that too if possible should be avoided. The answer to the current shift on the death penalty issue is often justified by the pops and bishops in the below given words: "Christs love for us lets us see our human dignity in full clarity and compels us to love our neighbors as he has loved us."(21) Now the Catholic Church focuses more on the moral aspect than that of the vengeance. It adheres to the fact that human life is priceless and killing a person will not bring peace in the world but mending his habits surely will. This idea that sprang from the Vatican City reached and inspired the bishops all around the world. Wilton further describes this change in his essay in these words: “It has been noted that after World War II many European countries began to question a states right to impose death on its citizens. In 1974 the U.S. Catholic Conference, the voice for the collective action of the American bishops, declared its opposition to the institution of capital punishment. Then in 1976, the same year that the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty after a moratorium of four years, the papal Commission for Justice and Peace expressed opposition to its use.” This tells us that the American bishops are working real hard on the death penalty issue. They are doing all the efforts to eradicate or at least minimize this extreme punishment that puts an end to a human’s life. Although the crime rate is not high in the countries like Canada but even there the death penalty is challenged by the Church. However, in many countries of the world death sentence is practiced in its full terms. The Church on the other hand had openly exhibited its abhorrence for this act of extreme cruelty. This uprising thought intensified in the after math of the World War II. It shows how the mindset of the world has changed after seeing a lot of blood shed, violence and misery. Capital Punishment Capital Punishment or the death sentence is defined in Capital law terms in these words: ‘Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the killing of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" (Latin caput). Hence, a capital crime was originally one punished by the severing of the head.’ Ironically the Church has been adhering to the above given definition of the death penalty for a long time. The sudden shift from such an extreme Viewpoint to a mildest one is indeed surprising to many of the Church’s followers. The Church initiated to hold a lenient stance on the death penalty since 1992. Eventually it came to such a point where it has started to favor complete abolition of the death sentence. The Church defines the importance of life as it has been described in the Testaments. Resultantly, the value of human life is above all the laws. A close study of the Bible also shows one the path of purgation. There is a way to seek God’s mercy by pleading and committing to be firm to do good deeds in the life ahead. So the concept of killing a person to punish him dies right here. The Church also guides a person to confess his sins to be redeemed of all the evil dwelling in his heart and soul. Graham Green describes the way to purgation in his novel in these words: “Between the stirrup and the ground Some thing he sought and some thing he found” This is the exact reflection of the Catholic Church’s recent stance on the death penalty. That a person can always find a refuge in God’s mercy only if he holds firm belief is the preaching of the Catholics and the same view reflects in their recent stance on the death sentence. This new change did not occur over night though. Still many believe it to be a positive and peaceful change. While the Catholics are working hard on abolishing death sentence another school of though is of a different view point. It believes that the death penalty actually helps preventing others from committing heinous crimes. It serves as a strong deterrent to those who might turn out to be a threat to the society. The supporters of the capital punishment adhere to the view point that a society is based on all kinds of the people and to curb the evil you need to kill the sinner. The followers of this school of thought believe that by putting an evil life to its end is a good deed. It not only saves the society from a criminal but also brings peace for others. The Capital punishment makes a fear free society as the sinners reach their ends. As a strong deterrent the death sentence also stops those who find pleasure in evil. This is how ever another extreme view that does not represent a large number of the society. On the other hand one can safely believe that the Catholic Church has approached a very sensitive topic and has clearly changed its position through the years. This is indeed a good step towards a better society ensuring peace and harmony all around the world if it expands its sphere. However the Church has yet to decide that on what kind of crimes the death sentence should be legalized as all the sinners do not ask for mercy and all the sins are not to be forgiven. On the contrary this shift in the Church’s view will instigate a standoff between the state and the church. A newly arising debate is about the confusion of the people whether to abide by the state’s law or the Church’s belief. Moreover, the Church has challenged the state’s authority and power by negating the Capital Punishment. This has indeed ignited a new debate on the issue of the death penalty. What ever will be the out come of the current debate, one thing is ensured that the Church has shown its own separate and independent place by shaping up an entirely changed definition of the death penalty. This is no doubt in the sharp contrast with the state’s law but the Church is able to make a firm stand on this. The world has already seen too much of blood shed, violence and murders. The evil seems to be ruling the world, therefore ow it is time to bring the dormant good from the hearts of the sinners and criminals to get a better start. The new change of the Catholic Church on the death penalty might bring peace in the world some how because peace is all that the world needs now. So the Catholic Church that had been favoring the death penalty for a long time has shown a new path to the world. This is the path of mercy, purgation and redemption. This idea is not new as the roots of this stance go back to the Christ’s times. No matter what are the reasons of the current shift but the Church has taken up a bold step even challenging the state’s authority References Kenneth R. Overberg, S.J. (2007). The Bible and the Death Penalty Today, Scripture from Scratch Zapor, P. (2006). Holy Week Campaign to End Death Penalty. Catholic News Service   Read More