Catholic Leaders Misinterpret Holy Scriptures on Capital Punishment in Breathtaking Ways

Michie · Jun 17, 2024

What does the Bible actually say about it?

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ,” St. Jerome famously declared. I wonder what the great Doctor of the Church would say to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

The prelate displayed his cavernous ignorance of the Holy Bible in a recent pronouncement on the death penalty.

In a Vatican News interview published on May 30 in Italian and Spanish (but not in English), Paglia claimed that the Scriptures have prohibited the death penalty since the time of Cain.

It is worth quoting the prelate’s entire statement, which is both rhetorically convoluted and theologically vacuous:

Yes, it seems to me that the Magisterium of the Church is now clearly expressed in this perspective, and this obviously gives hope: the agreement and the strength to emphasize the Church’s opposition to this incredible cruelty [capital punishment], which Scripture has already forbidden since the time of Cain.

The biblical illiteracy showcased in Paglia’s interview is breathtaking beyond belief. The archbishop uses the Italian word interdetto, which can be translated as “banned, forbidden, or prohibited,” but carries the juridical sense of an interdict — to forbid by legal decree.

Has Paglia even read the Pentateuch — the first five books of Moses? Or is he being deliberately disingenuous and bluffing his audience, assuming most of his Catholic readers hardly ever read the Bible, let alone possess any familiarity with the Torah?

Pontiff Debunks Defense of “Prudential Judgment”

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