The Catholic Church neither agrees or disagrees with the death penalty. Throughout the first half of the 20th century the general agreement amongst Catholic theologians remained in favour of capital punishment. There was also a law of the Vatican City from 1929 to 1969 stating that anyone who tried to assassinate the Pope with be punished to the death penalty. Despite this, by the end of this century opinions were changing.
In the Old Testament, the death penalty was used as a form of punishment and it also suggests that God created it. The Bible speaks in favour of the death penalty for murder, specifying 36 capital offences including crimes such as idolatry, blasphemy, and murder. Genesis 9:6 also states “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”, outlining that if you commit a crime, you must give your life. As well as this, the New Testament tells the story of what is the most famous execution in history, that of being Jesus’. Jesus was executed because he challenged the Roman royal authority. Crucifixion was a Roman method of punishment. Suspended from a large cross, a victim would eventually die from asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) or exhaustion. It was used to publicly humiliate slaves and criminals, not always to kill them. This is what happened to Jesus. …show more content…
Despite the fact that Jesus himself refrains from using violence, at no point he denies the state's authority to exact capital punishment. To support this, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2267) states that “Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against an unjust
In the Old Testament, the death penalty was used as a form of punishment and it also suggests that God created it. The Bible speaks in favour of the death penalty for murder, specifying 36 capital offences including crimes such as idolatry, blasphemy, and murder. Genesis 9:6 also states “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”, outlining that if you commit a crime, you must give your life. As well as this, the New Testament tells the story of what is the most famous execution in history, that of being Jesus’. Jesus was executed because he challenged the Roman royal authority. Crucifixion was a Roman method of punishment. Suspended from a large cross, a victim would eventually die from asphyxiation (lack of oxygen) or exhaustion. It was used to publicly humiliate slaves and criminals, not always to kill them. This is what happened to Jesus. …show more content…
Despite the fact that Jesus himself refrains from using violence, at no point he denies the state's authority to exact capital punishment. To support this, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2267) states that “Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against an unjust