In a video-taped message to the Sixth World Congress Against the Death Penalty, Pope Francis called the death penalty “an offense to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person.”

Vatican Radio is reporting on a particularly strong statement against the use of the death penalty by Pope Francis while addressing the Congress which is taking place in Oslo from June 21-23.

While applauding the growing opposition to the use of the death penalty, even as a means of legitimate social defense, he reminds that it is still “unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person,” the pope said.

“It likewise contradicts God’s plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice,” he continued. “Nor is it consonant with any just purpose of punishment. It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. The commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty.”

During this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, he is calling upon the faithful to promote “ever more evolved forms of respect for life” by remembering that the right to life also belongs to the criminal.

“Today I would encourage all to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, but also for the improvement of prison conditions, so that they fully respect the human dignity of those incarcerated,” he said.

“Rendering justice” does not mean seeking punishment for its own sake, but ensuring that the basic purpose of all punishment is the rehabilitation of the offender. The question must be dealt with within the larger framework of a system of penal justice open to the possibility of the guilty party’s reinsertion in society. There is no fitting punishment without hope! Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment.”

According to St. John Paul’s encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, authorities must defend public order to ensure people’s safety, but they must also offer the offender an incentive to change his or her behavior and be rehabilitated.

“It is clear that, for these purposes to be achieved, the nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity; in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent." (No. 56)

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