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Notable quotations from Catholic social teaching
on the theme of Capital Punishment

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In this context we have to place the problem of the death penalty. In the church and civil society there is a growing tendency to apply it in a very limited way or to abolish it completely. This problem should be viewed in the context of a penal justice ever more in line with the dignity of the human person and God's plan for humanity and society. The violation of personal and societal rights must be adequately punished as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of his or her freedom. In this way the public order is defended, public safety is ensured, and the offender is offered an incentive to change and be rehabilitated. 

The Gospel of Life (Donders translation), #56

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The nature and extent of the punishment ought not to go to the extreme of executing the offender, except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare if not practically nonexistent. 

The Gospel of Life (Donders translation), #56

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Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2265 

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The efforts of the state to curb the spread of behavior harmful to people's rights and to the basic rules of civil society correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people's safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2266 

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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. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2267