The Catholic Church - Death Penalty

DEATH PENALTY

I. Thesis: The Catholic Church holds a stance that has been separation from the states and governments enforcements of the death penalty and whether it is or not condemnation to God's laws.

II. History

III. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Website Findings

a. Synopsis

b. Seven Steps of ending the death penalty

IV. Religious Tolerance Website Findings

a. Section 2267 Catechism of the Catholic Church

V. Summary

Death Penalty

The death penalty since enforcement has been a conversation for debate for a long time. The main question that exists is whether it is human or inhuman. Within Christianity, the viewpoint consist of a divisional acknowledgement or acceptance toward the infliction and execution of the death penalty depending upon the interpreted view point of strict inerrancy or limited inerrancy among the different religious bases. The Catholic Church holds a stance that has been separation from the states and governments enforcements of the death penalty and whether it is or not condemnation to God's laws.

A quick historical search through the web on the death penalty will reveal that the death penalty falls under the legalist ration of capital punishment. Capital punishment is render when a person called a murder, criminal or offender commits a crime that is postulate as total disregard to the populace or person wellbeing or threat to a nation existence -such as a traitor of a country. In earlier times, these criminal acts resulted in death using some unorthodox method not conducive to today's methodology. Before getting into the different methods use, let us discuss how the infliction of the death penalty relates to Christianity.

In the book of Genesis depending on the canon source of reading, to paraphrase chapter 9:6, it is referenced that when someone sheds the blood of another human, for his or her action by human shall his or her blood be shed because God made man is his image. Therefore, it is my assumption why we experienced and see capital punishment as of today. Within the books of Exodus and Numbers, there are words for interpretation on how capital punishment should be administered to a murder. The one clause that stands out is if a person is a victim of a hideous act - he or she shall not act out in revenge. A revenger whose act that lead to death is an also a murders in the eyes of God. Some of the different methods used for exaction are by beheading, poison, lethal injection, stoning, hanging, and crucifixion. Depending on the culture, the enforcement of the death penalty changes among the different cultures. Throughout history, there has never been a total populace agreement or acceptance of the death penalty.

Among the religious populace, some believers believe in and support the death penalty by citing the canonical of the Bible found in Exodus and there are some Christians - non-supporters- believe when the execution of the death penalty is administered the executer is doing the exact hideous act of murder. Non-supporters of the death penalty believe there is never a reason to for taking another human life.

The Catholic Church for a long time made a point not interfere or agree with the use of the death penalty. Recent activities have evoked the Catholic Church to address or articulate a point of view. The Roman Catholic Church insists the disposition of the death penalty is not antipathetic to the teaching of Catholic. There are many websites on the internet depicting the stances of different religions, however, due to the allocation of this term paper I am reduce to gathering , reflecting, and reciting information from a few of them.

On the website, United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), you can find many teaching on sacraments, prayers, and church teaching. A quick synopsis of the USCCB, in nineteen seventeen under the name National Catholic War Council, bishops within the United Stated committed to providing spiritual guidance and recreation for service members. Nineteen-nineteen, Pope Benedict XV urged a united council of peace and social justice, the result led to the establishment of the National Catholic Welfare Council. In nineteen twenty-two, conference replaced the word council and the role change to include education, immigration, and social justice (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Nineteen sixty-six, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) were establish to serve with separate tasking - one focus on church affairs in the country and the other addressed issues of the Church within society. Finally, in July of two thousand and one, the NCCB and USCC combined as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

One particular media source, relating to topic of writing, is the doctrine A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death. A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death is a statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops calling for an end to the use of the death penalty . Within in A Culture