Introduction
Unfortunately my first blog post will be a recap of research I carried out a few months ago. Although I don't intend the blog posts to be overly rigorous, they will generally be more rigorous than this first post. The blog will basically be a place where I can set down my ideas on certain topics as I work through them, and something that will provide me a reference point to look back to. This post will be a jumbled mish-mash of angles and tidbits. It is meant to be informative and to give the reader a starting point for further investigation.
Some of the primary authors in this field are Edward Feser & Joseph Bessette, E. Christian Brugger, Avery Dulles, John Finnis, and to a lesser degree, Antonin Scalia, Aidan McIntosh, and Christian Washburn. Feser and Bessette have co-authored a book on the traditional position. Brugger has written a book on the progressive position. The interested reader is encouraged to search for articles and books by these authors. Many of the articles are freely available online.
Basic Questions
There are two basic questions at play:
Getting Your Feet Wet
For my money, the best introduction to this topic comes from First Things magazine. First Things published two major articles on the topic 20 years ago, both of which received a follow-up article comprised of responses from various different perspectives as well as the original author's responses. Here are the articles in chronological order:
These articles from First Things were published 20 years ago and thus are a response to the first two interventions. Edward Feser and others speak to the more recent developments.
My Conclusion
After considering the arguments I agree with Scalia's point of view, and I think his article is excellent. Capital punishment is not intrinsically evil, it is a commonsensical and important part of judicial systems, it is part of the Church's long tradition, and the arguments leveled against it are very bad indeed. I think John Paul II laid a faulty foundation and Pope Francis has been building on it with his positions on capital punishment and life sentences.
(Sorry for the lack of argumentation. Future posts will be better)
Unfortunately my first blog post will be a recap of research I carried out a few months ago. Although I don't intend the blog posts to be overly rigorous, they will generally be more rigorous than this first post. The blog will basically be a place where I can set down my ideas on certain topics as I work through them, and something that will provide me a reference point to look back to. This post will be a jumbled mish-mash of angles and tidbits. It is meant to be informative and to give the reader a starting point for further investigation.
Some of the primary authors in this field are Edward Feser & Joseph Bessette, E. Christian Brugger, Avery Dulles, John Finnis, and to a lesser degree, Antonin Scalia, Aidan McIntosh, and Christian Washburn. Feser and Bessette have co-authored a book on the traditional position. Brugger has written a book on the progressive position. The interested reader is encouraged to search for articles and books by these authors. Many of the articles are freely available online.
Basic Questions
There are two basic questions at play:
1. Is Church teaching of the last 25 years in discontinuity with tradition?
2. If so, is that discontinuity organic or inorganic? Legitimate or illegitimate?
A secondary question which is also important asks whether capital punishment is an intrinsic evil. The authors above are divided on such questions.2. If so, is that discontinuity organic or inorganic? Legitimate or illegitimate?
Getting Your Feet Wet
For my money, the best introduction to this topic comes from First Things magazine. First Things published two major articles on the topic 20 years ago, both of which received a follow-up article comprised of responses from various different perspectives as well as the original author's responses. Here are the articles in chronological order:
1. Catholicism and Capital Punishment, by Avery Cardinal Dulles (April 2001)
The basic timeline is also important. The recent magisterial interventions on the question of capital punishment began 25 years ago with John Paul II's publication of the encyclical Evangelium Vitae in 1995. In 1997 the Catechism's position on capital punishment was revised, and this occurred again in 2018 under Pope Francis. There was a fourth intervention in Francis' 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. All four interventions moved magisterial teaching closer to the position which says capital punishment is inadmissible. In Fratelli Tutti and elsewhere Pope Francis has also expressed opposition to life sentences.Follow-up: Avery Cardinal Dulles and his Critics: An Exchange on Capital Punishment (August 2001)
2. God's Justice and Ours, by Antonin Scalia (May 2002)Follow-up: Antonin Scalia and his Critics: The Church, the Courts, and the Death Penalty (October 2002)
These articles from First Things were published 20 years ago and thus are a response to the first two interventions. Edward Feser and others speak to the more recent developments.
My Conclusion
After considering the arguments I agree with Scalia's point of view, and I think his article is excellent. Capital punishment is not intrinsically evil, it is a commonsensical and important part of judicial systems, it is part of the Church's long tradition, and the arguments leveled against it are very bad indeed. I think John Paul II laid a faulty foundation and Pope Francis has been building on it with his positions on capital punishment and life sentences.
(Sorry for the lack of argumentation. Future posts will be better)
