CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Although capital punishment (punishing a criminal by taking his/her life) is sanctioned in the Old Testament, most Christians believe it is wrong to take another person's life. They believe that only God has the right to take away a life that God has created.
Capital Punishment also leaves no opportunity for the sinner to repent and reform.
The Roman Catholic Church supports the death penalty only as a last resort, to protect society. The Catholic Catechism (1997) says:
'2267. Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.'
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