More on the Death Penalty

Within the past couple of weeks, we have had several posts regarding Catholic thought and the death penalty, including the question whether our creation in the image of God demands opposition the death penalty. 

Zenit news reported October 31 on recent comments of Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  In a meeting last week with the president of the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture, Martino said that "Christians are called to cooperate for the defense of human rights and for the abolition of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against the human person in time of peace and in case of war."  He said that these practices "are grave crimes against the human person, created in the image of God, and a scandal for the human family in the 21st century."