Vatican against death penalty in all cases

ROME • Pope Francis has officially changed the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty, declaring that, from now on, it will no longer be viewed as permissible.

The Vatican has allowed the death penalty — albeit in extreme circumstances — for centuries. But under the new decree, Rome now regards execution as “inadmissible, because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

“Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good,” the Vatican said. “Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.”

The change was enacted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department responsible for defending Catholic teaching, and is contained in the universal catechism, a summary of the Church’s teaching on sexual, social and moral issues.

Until now, the Vatican was not opposed to capital punishment “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.”

However, it could face trenchant opposition from some Catholics, particularly conservatives in the U.S., who support the death penalty.

The Vatican said it would “work with determination” to help bring about an end to capital punishment in every country in the world.

Following the Vatican’s declaration, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he’ll introduce legislation that would remove the death penalty from New York state law.

Cuomo said his proposal is made in solidarity with the pope and in honour of his late father, Mario Cuomo, a staunch death penalty opponent during his three terms as New York governor from 1983 to 1994. The elder Cuomo vetoed legislation reinstating the death penalty 12 times in 12 years.

New York’s death penalty was reinstated in 1995 while Republican George Pataki was governor. The state’s highest court ruled it unconstitutional in 2004. The state hasn’t executed a prisoner since 1963.

Pope Francis, who often visits prisoners in jail on his trips abroad, has long been opposed to the death penalty. Last year, he said that human life “is always sacred in the eyes of the creator.”

He acknowledged that in past centuries the Papal States had used the death penalty, saying that was a mistake.

He argued that executing criminals was “cruel, inhumane and degrading” and that there was always the risk of “judicial errors” leading to innocent people being killed.