Capital punishment

• ‘The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.’ – Catechism of the Catholic Church 2267
• ‘If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell’ – Matthew 5:30
• • Aquinas had used Matthew 5:29-30 which says that if part of the body endangers the whole, it should be removed.
• • The Catholic church traditionally followed Thomist thinking and saw CP by a legitimate authority as licit. However, in 2018 the church amended the catechism to declare CP inadmissible.
• • Finnis’ Natural Law requires punishment to restore the balance of goods. CP is not the only way to do this.
• • There must be no preference for some people or goods over others. An authority cannot kill one for the benefit of the many.