Letters

Capital punishment

John Gallagher

Contents - Apr 2007 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Benedict XVI's document on the Eucharist - Michael Gilchrist Book Launch: B.A. Santamaria and Australian Catholicism: Cardinal Pell's tribute - Cardinal George Pell News: The Church Around the World 'Equal opportunity' legislation threatens Christian teachings - Babette Francis Catholicism and secularism in Britain: a test of strength on same-sex adoption - Joanna Bogle History: How much do Catholics know about ecumenical councils? - Frank Mobbs Vocations: New survey of successful US dioceses: lessons for Australia - Michael Gilchrist Rockhampton Lenten program: 'whatever that might mean' - AD2000 Report St Faustina: The Divine Mercy apostolate: a spirituality to transform the world - Eva Kimnes Belief: Christian-Muslim dialogue: major stumbling blocks - Fr Richard Umbers Letters: Liturgy: what next? - Franklin J. Wood Letters: Church leadership - P.W. English Letters: Money talks - Richard Stokes Letters: Saints needed - Arthur N. Ballingall National Church Life Survey clarification - Bob Dixon Letters: Catholic schools Letters: Catholic atmosphere - Stuart Paterson Letters: Free and fair markets and the Church's social doctrine - Chris Hilder Letters: Capital punishment - John Gallagher Letters: Scourge of the West - Kevin McManus Letters: African prisoners seek correspondents - Len Clark Letters: Contraception - Tim Coyle Books: The Way of Love: Reflections on Deus Caritas Est, Livio Melina and Carl Anderson - Tim Cannon (reviewer) Books: Catholic Thought Since the Enlightenment, by Aidan Nichols OP - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: Aspects of Authentic Church Teaching, by Fr Sebastian Camilleri OFM - Michael Gilchrist (reviewer) DOES YOUR PARISH STOCK AD2000? Books: Books available from AD2000 and Freedom Publishing Reflection: Benedict XVI on the transforming power of the Resurrection - Pope Benedict XVI

Bishop Christopher Saunders, writing in relation to the execution of Saddam Hussein (Catholic Weekly, 28 January 2007), refers to 'the pointlessness and obscenity of the death penalty.'

With respect to Bishop Saunders, the Church's position on capital punishment is not clear-cut.

In his Catechism, Pope St Pius X stated, 'It is lawful to kill ... when carrying out by order of the Supreme Authority a sentence of death in punishment for a crime' (Fifth Commandment, Question 3).

Father John Hardon SJ points out that 'it is certain from Scripture that civil authorities may lawfully put malefactors to death ... Among the errors of the Waldenses condemned by the Church in the early 13th century was the proposition that denied the lawfulness of capital punishment (Argentré Collectio de Novis Erroribus, 1, 86) ... St Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) defends capital punishment on the grounds of the common good' (Modern Catholic Dictionary, page 81).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2266) sets out the Church's position as follows: 'Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-founded 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 ...'.

JOHN GALLAGHER
Armidale, NSW

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 20 No 3 (April 2007), p. 16