Capital Punishment: Exploring Church Teachings, Arguments Essay

This essay delves into the Roman Catholic Church's evolving stance on capital punishment, tracing its historical perspective and the influence of key figures like Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. It examines the Church's teachings, particularly the emphasis on the sanctity of human life and the implications of the Ten Commandments. The essay outlines the pro and con arguments surrounding capital punishment, including its role in deterring crime, government expenditure, and ethical considerations. It presents both sides of the debate, highlighting arguments related to social justice, the potential for executing innocent people, and the Church's increasing opposition to the practice. The essay concludes by analyzing the ethical complexities of capital punishment and the Church's role in shaping social justice, referencing the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the evolving views of recent Popes.

Till present, the Roman Catholic Church has not articulated its inner thoughts and views in
relation to capital punishment. In reality, when Catholicism arose in ancient European history,
the act of capital punishment was known as a typical result of acceptable or illegal actions of
individuals. While this form of practice has lessened, it was not till the middle of 1990s, when
Pope John Paul II published his encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" or "The Gospel of Life".
Before the publication of this encyclical, get punishment was supposed to be occasionally apt for
safeguarding the society from any deviance. At present, owing to consistent development in the
disciplinary system structure these cases of death penalty have become exceptional, if not almost
absent (Pope John Paul II). When the Pope published his papal letter, the Cateshism of the
Catholic Church shared similar information related to death penalty and cases where it will be
accepted. The encyclical evaluates ideas related to the supreme value of human life. The
Almighty calls a human being to life which surpasses the human existence on earth.
The accomplishment of a human being is the creation of our beloved Father that is the Almighty
which sheds light on the reasons, to which the act is exclusively applicable when no other
alternative is available to protect the society. The Almighty friends humans to the earth for
accomplishing a single responsibility that is to be "fruitful and multiply, reproduce and state fill
the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Considering an individuals' life through death sentence
challenges the cold reason that God approved life to man. Capital punishment encounters the
primary values which God offered to man but also goes against numerous biblical teachings and
values which include the Ten Commandments. According to the fifth commandment, "thou shalt
not kill." The provision of capital punishment is man killing man that is and intolerable evil act
which is consequential to the executioner’s connection with God and the Catholic Church. One
more important Church value is to love thy neighbour as yourself. The judgement of taking away

life is not equivalent to the teachings of the church. In conclusion the memorandum in the Bible
and God is to uphold the existence of life. If not there is no other way to protect society, the
death sentence challenges this idea and it's consequently considered as an immoral as per the
Catholic Church (Evangelium Vitae).
With the publication of the encyclical of Pope John Paul II on death sentence and its relation
with Catholicism and ethics there are more knowledge on the idea within the Roman Catholic
Church. Pope Francis in 2018 spoke about the ethics and principles of capital punishment. The
Vatican proclaimed that the church's rationalized teaching explains that sentence as
"inadmissible" and violence towards "the dignity of the person"(Harlan). With the publication of
Pope Paul's Evangelium Vitae, Pope Francis has expressed opposition towards capital
punishment. Understanding the values behind the execution of an individual as a way to avenge
the killing of another human is ethically incorrect. Pope Francis finally expressed his views
towards the act of death sentence and the Catholic Church in revolutionizing social justice. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims that the death punishment is prohibited as it is an
occurrence on the holiness and self-respect of the individual. It also states that the Church
“Works with determination for its abolition worldwide” (Harlan). Irrespective of the
circumstance, the Pope attained significant level of hate for sharing his views on the matter. He
further received the provision of number of Catholics in addition to others across the world. An
illustration can be drawn from Cardinal Blake Cupich. He has claimed that being a Christian, it is
intolerable to destroy the self-worth of human’s existence. Also there will always be an absence
of actual and sustained stability in the balances of fairness if a human is killed (Winters). The
view of the Roman Catholic Church and teachings has sustained while discoursing on death
sentences. The encyclical documented by the Pope John Paul II established stringent

recommendations to know when the decision of capital punishment is justifiable. However,
recently the Pope Francis has altered the Catechism of the Catholic Church to express his
opposition to the act. It is because; such practice opposes the instructions of God as well as the
Bible.
Ethics is intensely positioned in the subject of the death sentence because of a number of ‘pro’
as well as ‘con’ opinions concerning the view. It can be argued whether or not the act is ethically
correct or incorrect on the basis of diverse explanations. The ones who are in favour of capital
punishment give various explanations of advocating it. It is important to note that the
implementation of the act prevents criminality and wrongdoing within a society. Generally, the
chief determination of the commandment is to uphold social order. Practice of death sentence
usually relates to austere misconduct like first-degree killing or terrorist attacks. When one
receives death penalisation, it will not only eliminate the person from the society, but also totally
eliminate the act of wrong doing from the society. At this juncture, practice of death sentence
confiscates the committer as well as averts additional misconduct from occurring at the first
place. Moreover, there has been found almost 7% increase in rates of criminal acts when this law
was briefly dismissed. On the other hand, the crime rate declined when additional affiliates of
death commotion were implemented every time. One more argument which advocates the notion
of death sentence practice relates to the government expenditure that is less as compared to death
penalty devoid of liberation. Though carrying out capital sentence charge the administration a
substantial sum of money, it fails to line up with sustenance, healthcare in addition to additional
various expenditures encompassed in sustaining one’s life in prison. In addition, the capital
punishment saves penitentiaries with an absence of unbearable slaughterers causing trouble
within prison walls. The death penalty not only saves prison and also circumvents the rate of

overpopulation of all diverse prospectuses of correctional conveniences all through North
America.
The ones who are ‘pro’ capital punishment also contest in contradiction of those existing
implementation methods handles a particular result for the persons who destined bearing in mind
the anguish they gave to the loved ones of the victim. Lethal injections of treatment help
committers to pass away painlessly. This method is reverential than previous killing approaches
like hanging, electrocution and shooting troops. The ones supporting these conformist methods
of the death sentence also have faith in the process as it gives no pain. When the criminal is
killed, it helps in adjusting pains of the loved ones of the victim to tolerate. With the elimination
of the criminal from the society, the ones grieving over their loss develop a feeling that the
victim has finally attained respect and the wrongdoing has been warranted. Correct example of a
criminal who demonstrates reason to which the death sentence must be practiced is none other
than Osama Bin Laden. The well-known assassin was killed for his numerous immoral acts. The
most recognized is the 9/11 attacks. It impacted lives of billions of Americans till present. Even
though every human has self-respect, people typically do not show any repentance for
individuals who tends to inflict immense pain and despair on billions of people across the world.
With execution of Osama Bin Laden through capital punishment, it chiefly circumvents the
likelihood of him practicing any immoral acts any more. Furthermore, it avoided him from being
in custody which might have subsequently inflicted suffering on others and perhaps escape.
Lastly Bin Laden’s death offers high justice. Moreover, his assassination not only provided the
society with utmost safety but facilitated the reassurance of a number of people who he affected.
The ones who advocated capital punishment can draw an argument. The argument claims that

while the moralities and standards are not moderately there, this punishment traditionally is
constructive in the direction of the society in the future. (Ayres)
Even though the number of people who support the practice of capital punishment, there can be
found an equal proportion of individuals who opposed the practice of killing a person in the form
of penalization. There are a number of disadvantageous arguments, for the opponents of the
practice of death sentence. The most obvious justification for the opposition is that penalty in a
way takes away the existence of a human. Irrespective of demographic factors like sex, age,
ethnicity, culture, all human beings uphold a determination on this earth which does not deserve
to be snatched away. In an ethical perspective, killing of a man can never be an immoral act.
Many a times, practices like first-degree assassination are applied in a context in which a victim
is prompted by sentiments and follows their impulse and pressure. This implies to the fact that a
person with no history of criminal acts if make some mistake will have their valuable life be
taken forever. Meanwhile, individuals experiencing mental illnesses might commit a criminal act
which can be unintentional can also face similar consequences of death penalization. The
primary drawback of capital punishment is that it tends to spread social prejudices claiming that
an individual life can be more valuable than the other. This tends to happen by targeting racially
minor classes and the ones who are economically deprived who cannot afford to defend their
case. Because of these social injustice, many innocent people are unjustifiably suspected for
unlawful acts and experience death penalty without any critical faults of their. As a result, the
implementation of capital punishment can be disadvantages for these sections of people. In the
United States, around144 people have been vindicated after execution of life (Kreuter).
Another 'con' argument given by the ones who oppose the concept of capital punishment
claims that is the practice does not prevent criminal acts totally. In the United States, federations

which implement the practice of capital punishment show highest rates of murders. Furthermore,
in due course, this practice will fail to have any major impact on the anguished conditions of the
ones who will lose their loved ones through this practice. Even though they might feel relieved
of the elimination of the criminal act, but the loss of a beloved is irreplaceable no matter what
rigorous actions are conducted after the death. When a state declared as a death penalty, it also
give the idea that executing one's life will stabilize the entire society. This assumption is not only
flawed but ethically incorrect and tends to harm the society to a greater extent. Currently,
criminal services are highly progressive unjustifiable penalty for the committers receive stringent
actions. On the contrary to death sentences, detention might save the life of the criminal and
provide an opportunity to rehabilitate him. Notwithstanding the fact that the individuals tend to
make immoral choices, they have certain level of dignity and certainly deserves chance to think
about their actions while being in detention and away from the society. They also receive strict
penalty for the immense suffering they have perpetrated on several people (Ayres).
Implementation of capital punishment is decreasing all across the world because of its nature of
immortality. It also has failed to prove that it provides any advantage to the society more than the
law without capital punishment. A person might be opposing capital punishment for several
reasons, but most importantly due to the right of people to live their lives. Ethically, it is
incorrect take away anyone's life due to their actions. It can be claimed that in every argument
there can be a statement which stimulates the practice of capital punishment which can be
challenge by improved justification by the ones who do not support this implementation. Social
prejudices are greatly involved with this kind of punishment and consequently, innocent lives
might be taken away. The Almighty has created humans with utmost dignity. Through the
practice of capital punishment this dignity will be e unjustly taken away and further the

Almighty will also be affronted. In contemporary society, several newly established systems of
discipline and restoration have become accessible which has lessened the propensity of execution
of criminals. In a number of contexts, lifetime detention is harmless and could be a poorer form
of punishment for the criminals, even though it is ethically justifiable. Lastly, the practice of
death sentence as a form of taking revenge is not correct. The murder of the offender will not
necessarily release the families of the victim from suffering in the future.
The practice of death sentence is a subject that is comprehensively discussed all across the world.
In an ethical perspective, such a practice is incorrect and unjustifiable but greatly supported all
around the world with the idea that it will keep the communities more protected. because of a
wide range of advantages and disadvantages factors related to the topic, even the Roman
Catholic Church has currently restructure its final verdict on whether the practice of death
sentence should be accepted all over the world. In consequence, capital punishment being
considered as an ethically incorrect practice, all through the previous decades, the act of
punishment has been losing its importance but is continually advocated by several people all-
inclusive.