Pope Francis
Pope Francis has changed the teachings of the Catholic faith to officially oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, the Vatican has said.
The Catechism of the Church, a codified doctrine which sums up teachings, had previously stated that the death penalty could be used in some cases.
It now says it is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”.
Pope Francis has spoken out against executions in the past.
Last October, he had said the Church’s policy on the death penalty was one area where teaching was not static and could change with modern concerns.
What has it changed from?
The text of the catechism was first set by Pope John Paul II in October 1992, and earlier stated that the death penalty was “an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good”.
However, the new text says there is “an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes”.
It also argues that today’s more effective detention methods protect citizens and “do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption”. (BBC)