Most of us that grew up in the peripheries don’t buy the central premise of this pontificate of making the Church less European. I agree with R. R. Reno’s assertions in “Rome’s Concordat” (March 2024) that this pontificate sounds like a focus group at the World Economic Forum or a DEI . . . . Continue Reading »
Pope Francis has denounced capital punishment in recent years, and responses from concerned Catholics have focused largely on whether the Holy Father’s words represent a faithful account of the Church’s fundamental teaching. Amid this debate, most have overlooked the fact that Francis’s . . . . Continue Reading »
Modern spokesmen for traditional Judaism have consistently expressed reservations about capital punishment. While the biblical texts seem to provide many opportunities for the death penalty, the normative Talmudic interpretations in effect make these punishments inapplicable. For example, the bar of . . . . Continue Reading »
Death Penalty Sad to say, but as surely as night follows day, when Pope Francis speaks on doctrinal matters, confusion results. And so it is with the pope’s August revision to section 2267 of the Catechism. Although taught by the Church for two millennia as a legitimate punishment for . . . . Continue Reading »
Luis Francisco Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has announced to the bishops Pope Francis’s approval of new material addressing capital punishment in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (number 2267). The inserted passage notes “an . . . . Continue Reading »
We can expect that any bishop who has fully embraced the attitude that punishment is never retributive will fail to protect his flock by appropriately punishing offenders. Continue Reading »
The Cardinals must advise Pope Francis to withdraw new teaching on the death penalty from the Catechism. Continue Reading »
“The death penalty is inadmissible” invites the questions: By whom? On whose will? Continue Reading »
One does not need to support capital punishment to worry that Pope Francis may have gone too far. Continue Reading »
DEADLY DESERTS Paul Griffiths’s sneering review of our book, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed (“Against Capital Punishment,” December 2017), illustrates how much bile—and how little charity—is often to be found in those who speak the loudest of mercy and humanity. Griffiths suggests . . . . Continue Reading »
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