what does the Church say about the death penalty?
by jt (2024-03-22 10:54:14)

In reply to: The Catholic Church calls abortion intrinsically evil.  posted by jfs86

Cannot Reply Return to Political

what is the Republican party position on the death penalty?

11 people were executed in the US in 2021.
by Otter  (2024-03-22 11:36:20)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

These were convicted criminals judged by a jury of their peers who exhausted their due process appeals and did not receive clemency.

On the other hand, more than 600,000 babies were aborted.

I am Pro-life to include being anti-death penalty. I had a change of heart about 10-12 years ago. So I see the point you're trying to make.

However, the magnitude of evil and injustice between the effect of legalized capital punishment is not comparable to the evil of abortion.

None of what I wrote is to be construed as political or Trump vs Biden. Just a pet peeve of the abortion vs cap punishment comparison.
I agree wholeheartedly....
by Marine Domer  (2024-03-22 15:53:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

and I'm anti-death penalty. I'd add that to compare a serial rapist-murderer's life being ended to that of a perfectly innocent and helpless baby is not a strong argument. The rapist-murderer gets free legal counsel, endless appeals, and the beyond a reasonable doubt standard. The baby gets "we're not sure when life begins, so it's between a woman and her doctor."

I think that we're in the same boat
by jt  (2024-03-22 12:31:13)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I am also pro life and anti death penalty. I'm also an advocate for smarter gun safety rules. In general, I think that we have an unhealthy obsession with death and killing in this country; the "culture of death" that the holy Father John Paul 2 warned about.

That said, I despise when people pick and choose which teachings of the Church to use as a defense and when a person intends to label an entire group of people the way that the OP did, it bugs me.
There's a difference in policy debates as well
by shillelaghhugger  (2024-03-22 15:26:17)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

If Dems were pushing to replace the death penalty to life without parole in a manner that could be stomached by those concerned with heinous criminals walking the streets again, I think Catholics in good conscience would have to take those proposals seriously. Alas, I'm not aware of that being a significant part of any current policy debate.

Catholics should rejoice when there are fewer babies aborted however that occurs whether its through education, crisis pregancy centers, policies that support mothers facing violence, etc. The same can be true for the death penalty, which has been relegated to an extremely unlikely to be used tool. Catholics should also be worried about policy blow back. If they were able to successfully get rid of legal abortion or death penalty in all circumstances, isn't it quite possible that the rope gets pulled back too strongly in the other policy direction? That should be considered.

It is partly the sincerity argument.
by BigBadBrewer  (2024-03-23 08:39:45)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

"Catholics should rejoice when there are fewer babies aborted however that occurs whether its through education, crisis pregancy centers, policies that support mothers facing violence, etc. " -- Yes. Support of families in poverty, economic opportunity, etc

One group only supports cutting supply while, apparently, not caring about demand.
'Apparently' is doing a lot of work in your last sentence
by El Kabong  (2024-03-23 18:13:50)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I'm anti-abortion (while recognizing the medical need for it to exist) and anti-death penalty, while being in support of programs to assist moms and moms-to-be, provided stats show they make a difference.