Capital punishment Flashcards
What is the Capital punishment and what do Catholics believe about it?
-capital punishment refers to the death penalty
-The Catholic Church teaches against the death penalty as they believe in the sancity of life
-this means that as life is a gift from God it is scared and should be cherished
from conception to natural death.
-The death penalty, by intentionally ending human life, is viewed as a violation of this principle and undermines the Church’s commitment to promoting a culture of life.
What evidence is there for the sanctity of life going against the death penalty?
•”God created mankind in his image”
•this teaches that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses inherent dignity and worth therefore even people who have committed grave crimes retain their dignity and value as human persons.
How does the Catholic belief against the death penalty impact their lives ?
They will try to do all that they can to protect human life so they will attend peaceful marches against death penalty being changed in the Uk to make it legal
What did St Augustine say about the death penalty?
-he was against the death penalty and said taught that a person cannot change when they’re dead so need to be given every chance to change while still alive
-“there is no space to reform character except in this life”»> here he reinforces the idea that once a person dies they will face the consequences of their action on earth therefore it is important to help them change before they die (to act out the “love thy neighbour commandment “) otherwise they would face eternal punishment
What did Pope John Paul say about Capital punishment?
-he suggested it should be avoided unless it’s the only way to protect people against the criminal or “except in cases of absolute necessity “» Therefore it should only be used as a last resort for the lost dangerous criminals but its is not preferable as it does not maintain the dignity of the criminal
What did Pope Francis say about the death penalty?
-In recent years there has been significant change in the Catholic teaching about the death penalty. Initially Pope John Paul had said the death penalty had not to be used “except in cases of absolute necessity” . -However Pope Francis has affirmed the Church’s opposition to the death penalty as he has stated that it goes “ the dignity of the human person” meaning it is no longer justifiable
Why might some Christians agree with the death penalty and why is the argument weak?
-Some Christians would agree with the idea of retribution meaning whatever a person does to someone else should be done to them
-This may be because Old Testemant suggests the death penalty should be used in some circumstances as it’s says “an eye for an eye” which indicates that making the punishment equal is biblically accurate
-some Christians may also argue it’s a good form of punishment as it deters people from murdering others. This would also indicate that the death penalty upholds the commandment “thou shall not kill” by showing the seriousness of murder as a crimeto others
-this argument is weak as Jesus came to reform the teaching of the Old Testament and said “to turn the other cheek” meaning we shouldn’t stoop to someone else’s lowest level but find a peaceful resolution
How might some Christians belief for the death penalty to occur influence their lives?
-They will try to change the law in the Uk to ensure that serious crimes like murder are punished with the death penalty
- this might be through writing letter to MPs or starting social media campaigns
What are the humanists arguments against the death penalty?
-a popular humanist slogan is “my life, my body, my choice” indicating that the “right to life” means any form of killing is wrong and no one has the right to take a life including the government
-no court systems can be sure to give the correct decision as to whether someone is guilty or not. This could lead to people being convicted and killed for crimes they did not commit meaning they cannot be executed
-the death penalty does not deter people from murdering as they do not expect to be caught so do not think about the punishment
