Pope Francis sends video message to death penalty conference

[Martinius]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/201..._message_to_death_penalty_conference/1238843#

Francis told the conference that executing criminals is not "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."

One can just see all those "Christian" lawmakers in U.S. states with capital punishment smacking themselves on the forehead and saying to each other: "So that's what that commandment means! No one ever explained it to us like that before. And why didn't Jesus say something about it in the gospels?....Oh, you say Jesus did make it very clear that killing was wrong? We must have missed that day in bible class. So, do you think we should abolish the death penalty and join the rest of the civilized world?....Nah, me neither."

 

[Colin]

To be consistently pro-life we need to campaign for the abolition of the death penalty .

 

[Shiloh Raven]

I think you are right, Colin.

 

[s_gunter]

Disclaimer: I speak as a citizen of the USA, agreeing with Martinius's comment.

I'm surprised that this hasn't been "blown up" so that it's yet another "thing" to use to question the legitimacy of Pope Francis as Pope, or even of his Catholicity. Remember, this doesn't fit in with the Republican/conservative ideology at all. Since he doesn't match that ideology, he cannot possibly be a credible Pope.