Pope+John+Paul+II

Pope John Paul II held his position as leader of the Roman Catholic Church for twenty-six years and during this time period, he spoke out against the death penalty across the world due to it being an injustice that took away the most sacred gift that God could give: life ("Religious Views...").

Pope John Paul II has many famous quotes about what makes the death penalty a human injustice, but he was also realistic. He said that in times when the greater good of the overall community will be helped through the execution of an individual, or in order save more lives, than it makes more sense to take one life instead of many others. However, he still held true to the idea that killing as a response to killing direspects the gift of life, not once, but twice and that the cycle of attacks on human life should be broken.


 * "May the death penalty, an unworthy punishment still used in some countries, be abolished throughout the world" ("Religious Views...")
 * The Prayer at the Papal Mass at Regina Coeli Prison in Rome, July 9, 2000
 * "A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary" ("Religious Views...")
 * Homily at the Papal Mass in the Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri, January 27, 1999
 * "This is the context in which to place the problem of the death penalty. On this matter there is a growing tendency, both in the Church and in civil society, to demand that it be applied in a very limited way or even that it be abolished completely. The problem must be viewed in the context of a system of penal justice ever more in line with human dignity and thus, in the end, with God's plan for man and society. The primary purpose of the punishment which society inflicts is to redress the disorder caused by the offence. Public authority must redress the violation of personal and social rights by imposing on the offender an adequate punishment for the crime, as a condition for the offender to regain the exercise of his or her freedom. In this way authority, also fulfills the purpose of defending public order and ensuring people's safety, while at the same time offering the offender an incentive and help to change his or her behaviour and be rehabilitated" ("The Pope's Statements").

