Pope Francis has changed the Catechism so that it now declares the death penalty to be flatly “inadmissible”. Whether he is teaching that capital punishment is always and intrinsically evil is a matter of controversy, but taken at face value, the wording of the revision at least seems to say that. And while it is important to understand the exact magisterial weight of the new text, we also have to deal with the obvious reading: that, as the BBC put it, "Pope Francis has changed the teachings of the Catholic faith to officially oppose the death penalty in all circumstances."
9:03 PM
The new Catechism text on the death penalty will damage the Church
Yes, the revised wording is unclear. But it certainly seems to imply that previous popes led the faithful into grave error
Edward Feser
14 min read
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