Seeking Further Clarity

A longstanding tradition, from Saint Paul, to Augustine and up to today. What did St. Thomas Aquinas say about capital punishment?

The main page of the website for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis features the following story:

On October 20, the state of Missouri is scheduled to carry out the execution of Roderick Nunley for the murder of Ann Harrison in 1989. If Mr. Nunley is executed he will be the 68th person executed in Missouri since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

Catholic teaching opposes the use of the death penalty because it disregards the sanctity of life and promotes revenge as a principle of justice. In his 1999 address in St. Louis, Pope John Paul II called for a consensus to “end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.”

It has been the tradition of the Catholic Bishops of Missouri to join with other religious leaders to submit a clemency application to the Governor of Missouri for any individual with an execution date. This petition voices concerns about the case and asks the governor to grant mercy to the individual.

As Catholic citizens you too can add your voice with the bishops and call on Governor Nixon to grant mercy to Roderick Nunley and stop his execution.

I have to say, when I came across this declaration I was more than a little disappointed and frustrated by the inadequate flushing out of the Church's entire teaching on the subject, as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In other words, the statement appearing in bold that proclaims "Catholic teaching opposes use of the death penalty" is simply incomplete and, dare I say, flat out wrong. My principal bone of contention with this formulation is that it could lead to confusion or a blurring of the lines among sincere Catholics regarding other issues that carry far greater moral weight, as with abortion, for instance. The dangerous "seamless garment" theory often seeps in when discussing the death penalty and abortion in the public forum. I remember someone once telling me that he found it hypocritical for George Bush to describe himself as pro-life when he favors the death penalty. This is, of course, ridiculous, but I was not surprised by it, since woefully inadequate statements like the one quoted above have only encouraged this kind of slapdash thinking, in my opinion.

The website statement also declares that capital punishment "promotes revenge as a principal of justice." I strongly disagree. Some may view it this way, but that is not the position stated in the Church's own Catechism.

I came across the following commentary by Father John A. Hardon S.J. on the matter:

...To return to the original question, "What is the Church's teaching on capital punishment?" the best answer is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. "Preserving the common good of society," we are told, "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" (no.2266). -Fr. John A. Hardon S.J., from "The Catholic Faith" magazine

I added the emphases to contrast Hardon's thoughtful reply (which simply relies on the Catechism) with the simplistic, broad stroke talking points found on the website for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The question of the death penalty is a very serious one and deserves serious treatment. (By "talking points" I am not referring to the words of JPII, but rather the narrow and frankly incorrect assertion that "Catholic teaching opposes use of the death penalty.")

Also the implication here is that by supporting the death penalty one is committing some kind of disobedience as regards Church teaching, and should therefore repent. I find this offensive. Capital punishment, and it's moral implications, is not an issue that can be held up, mutatis mutandis, to abortion. The latter is intrinsically evil, the former is not. Then-Cardinal Ratzinger said as much in the following excerpt from a 2004 letter:

Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.

It would be mighty refreshing to see this sort of serious, thoughtful explanation of the Church's real teaching mirrored on diocesan websites in America.