The Pope's Letter to Prison Ministers

Here (thanks to ZENIT) is a link to the Pope's recent address to prison ministers.  The address is called "Called to be Heralds of God's Infinite Compassion."  Here is the key passage:

Judicial and penal institutions play a fundamental role in protecting citizens and safeguarding the common good (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2266). At the same time, they are to aid in rebuilding “social relationships disrupted by the criminal act committed” (cf. "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church," 403). By their very nature, therefore, these institutions must contribute to the rehabilitation of offenders, facilitating their transition from despair to hope and from unreliability to dependability. When conditions within jails and prisons are not conducive to the process of regaining a sense of a worth and accepting its related duties, these institutions fail to achieve one of their essential ends. Public authorities must be ever vigilant in this task, eschewing any means of punishment or correction that either undermine or debase the human dignity of prisoners. In this regard, I reiterate that the prohibition against torture “cannot be contravened under any circumstances” (Ibid., 404).

In my view, this passage should not be understood as rejecting desert-based or retributive theories of punishment.  That is, nothing in this passage suggests that "retribution", and not "a desire to rehabilitate" or "possible pro-social consequences" is not what justifies the state in imposing "punishment" on offenders.  This passage speaks directly to the structuring of punishment, not its justification; it speaks to some of the end-results we should want our punishments to achieve, but it does not deny the traditional Catholic position that the primary purpose of just punishment is retribution, properly understood (i.e., not as "vengeance.")

Over at Vox Nova, Morning's Minion has a different take.  But, I think it is a mistake to read this passage as saying that "defense against the criminal" is one of the two "key functions" of the penal system.  Given the Church's longstanding teachings regarding punishment, the Pope's mention of "safeguarding the common good" clearly (to me) embodies the notion that the "common good" is served when the order disturbed by the offense is restored, i.e., by retribution, properly understood.

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