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Death Penalty And Capital Punishment In The Catholic Church

1006 Words5 Pages

Among the multiplicity of doctrines in the Catholic Church, one that is often debated is her teaching concerning the death penalty/capital punishment. Catholics are very much divided on this issue. Some are strong supporters of capital punishment, considering it just and right in society. Others abhor the idea of killing any human being, and advocate for the abolition of a practice they call immoral and unnecessary. Why is the death penalty such a controversial topic in Catholic circles? Perhaps the reason is this: the world is always changing. Therefore, the Church also changes. Now this statement does not, under any circumstance, mean that the Church must conform to modern society. If she did, she would cease to be truly Catholic. The Church 's views on such atrocities as abortion and euthanasia are clear. Both are utterly immoral. Priests will always be male. The Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, under the appearance of bread and wine. Homosexual intercourse and “marriage” are sins. These – and many other – stances of the Church are absolute. They will never change. However, some practices within the Church have changed over the years. For instance, because of Vatican II, Masses can be celebrated in the “language of the people”1 (for instance, English) instead of in Latin. Most recently, the prayers of the Mass have been altered to more closely follow their original translations. …show more content…

The point is that the Catholic Church 's position may change – or, more accurately, modify – as she enters into new periods of human history. So it is with capital punishment. In the earlier centuries, prisons were nowhere near as safe or secure as we can make them today. If a person committed a

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