on capital punishment in article may athos rutgers edu mmh dcs qmw ac uk matthew huntbach writes i would say only to the extent that the roman catholic church neither approves nor disapproves of capital punishment as confirmed in the recent catechism though there are many rcs who were rather surprised and upset that capital punishment was not explicitly condemned i quote from the journal days in the church and in the world no p regarding the new draft of the universal catechism in procuring the common good of society the need could arise that the aggressor be placed in the position where he cannot cause harm by virtue of this the right and obligation of public authorities to punish with proportionate penalties including the death penalty is acknowledged for similar reasons legimate authorities have the right to impede aggressors in society with the use of arms the church s traditional teaching has always been expressed and will continue to be expressed in the consideration of the real conditions of common good and the effective means for preserving public order and personal safety to the degree that means other than the death penalty and military operations are sufficient to keep the peace then these non violent provisions are to be preferred because they are more in proportion and in keeping with the final goal of protection of peace and human dignity as is clearly shown by this excerpt the church s teaching on capital punishment remains today as it has always been in the past in total accord with my sentiment that i do not disagree with the use of deadly force in those cases for which this option is justifiable i do not think your biblical quote can automatically be taken as support for capital punishment i take it that as a roman catholic you are opposed to abortion and would still onsider it wrong and something to be objected to even if legalised by authority i seek to conform my will to the will of god as expounded by his instrument of the visible church here on earth whenever the question of faith or morals arises randal lee nicholas mandock catechist gt b prism gatech edu
