Why revisit this issue now? The Pennsylvania bishops expressed their opposition to capital punishment back in a 1987 statement. In 1994, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops took the same stance in a pastoral message, “Confronting a Culture of Violence”, which it reiterated in an “Appeal to End the Death Penalty” on Good Friday, 1999.
In the past few years, nevertheless, circumstances in Pennsylvania have changed. Executions of criminals convicted of first-degree murder were resumed in 1995, after the electric chair had been collecting dust for 30 years. The state’s death-row population – presently 241 – is growing. Recent changes in federal and local laws “accelerate the execution timetable by restricting review by the courts or intervention by the governor.” Although Pennsylvania authorities have executed only three convicted murderers since 1995, the rate of executions could increase, because many condemned criminals may soon exhaust their chances to appeal.
The Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania have noted these changes in the socio-political landscape and responded to them, asking that readers prayerfully reflect on their rationale. “We believe that it is crucial” at this moment “to continue the proclamation of the teaching of the Catholic Church on the fundamental sanctity of all human life.”
This, of course, is the primary consideration: human beings are God’s creatures, made in God’s own image. “Accordingly, there is a moral presumption against human beings killing other human beings.” A second consistent Church teaching concerns the legitimate right of government to protect society by punishing wrongdoers. In the past the Church allowed an exception to its presumption against taking human life, following St. Thomas Aquinas’ teaching that executing the offender may sometimes be necessary to preserve the common good. (Summa Theologica II-IIae, q.64, a.2.).
While neither of these moral principles is negotiable, the Church’s teaching on the use of capital punishment has been refined and is becoming more explicit. This is evident in the 1995 encyclical, The Gospel of Life (#56), in the revisions made to the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1997 to reflect that teaching (#2267), and in the interventions of Pope John Paul II on behalf of condemned criminals.
The February 12, 2001 statement formulates the new emphasis as follows: “Modern society has the means of protecting itself and preserving the common good without the necessity of capital punishment. The Holy Father’s words are more a development in the use of the state’s right rather than a change in the teaching of the Church on that state’s right.”
Having summarized the Church’s teachings, the Pennsylvania bishops turn to practical arguments. They cite studies by law enforcement officials showing that the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.
“Not only does the death penalty fail to protect us; it inflicts great harm on individuals and society.” Errors in the criminal justice system can lead to the conviction and sentencing of innocent people. (In the past thirty years, two people were freed from Pennsylvania’s death row after the real criminals were apprehended.)
Furthermore there is an inherent miscalculation in capital punishment. “Reliance on the use of the death penalty creates a greater harm to society by reinforcing the idea that violence is a solution to society’s problems. The death penalty will not overcome violent crime any more than abortion will end the problem of unwanted pregnancy or euthanasia will solve the problems of aging and illness.” The Pennsylvania bishops conclude that the death penalty erodes respect for life, nurtures hatred instead of increasing security, and allows elected officials to ignore the real causes of crime.
What about justice and “closure” for those mourning the victims of violence? Cardinal Bevilacqua addressed this concern while testifying before the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee on February 22, 2000. “Those who suffer unimaginable grief as a result of the senseless murder of one dear to them deserve the love and support of everyone…. They have a right to expect that justice will be done and that the perpetrator of a crime will be punished swiftly and effectively.” Yet an appeal to the survivors’ well-being cannot be made the basis of demands for vengeance. Speaking as pastors, the bishops insist that “true emotional, spiritual and even physical healing is found in the compassionate embrace of Jesus, who practiced forgiveness and teaches us to do the same.”
Instead of death, the Pennsylvania bishops recommend life imprisonment for capital offenses, which in their state means incarceration with no chance of parole. This would end the confusion for prison personnel, who work to rehabilitate offenders but are sometimes caught in a process that denies a criminal sufficient time to reform.
The Pennsylvania bishops sum up their position forcefully. “We believe the use of the death penalty should be abolished. We envision no circumstances in modern American society that could justify its continued use. We wholeheartedly support legislation for a moratorium as well as a study of the theory and practice of capital punishment in Pennsylvania.”
The bishops express the hope that Pennsylvania’s Catholics will have a significant impact on the culture, based on their love for Jesus, by becoming consistent witnesses to the dignity of every human being. They suggest a charity that reaches out to the family and friends of both victims and offenders as well as to corrections personnel.
“The Death Penalty: Choose Life” is a pastoral application of Catholic teaching to recent developments in American society. In making their position heard, the Bishops of Pennsylvania are like a prophetic voice in the moral wilderness brought on by the culture of death. They conclude by citing Ezekiel 33:11, “The Lord God says, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live.’”
(This article originally appeared in the National Catholic Register.)
