Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone tweeted about his recent article in America Magazine that focused on Catholic teaching on the death penalty. 

Cordileone, archbishop of San Francisco, said that in the modern era, capital punishment is no longer necessary.

“Criminal justice is also social justice,” Cordileone tweeted. “When crime rates soar, it is the least among us, the poor and minorities, who pay the highest price. But today we no longer need capital punishment to protect the common good.” 

Madison Bishop Donald Hying supported Cordileone’s stand, once writing in Simply Catholic: “In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that, when we visit someone in prison, we are encountering him. … Evidence suggests that capital punishment does not effectively serve as a deterrent to murderous violence.” 

Hying thinks life imprisonment is a far better option.

“Clearly, some criminals must be incarcerated their entire lives because they pose a threat to society, but is it not time to do away with the death penalty, to seek rehabilitation and healing for prisoners where possible, to put more resources into a concerted effort to help released inmates to live productively, contributing to the common good and finding their place in society?” he said.

Cordileone said in his article that abolishing the death penalty is a necessary good, though he clarified that capital punishment is not an “intrinsic evil” such as abortion (the killing of innocent human life). He cited Pope Francis’ revision of the Catechism in 2018, where the Vatican added that capital punishment “is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and stated that the church works “for its abolition worldwide.” 

Cordileone also noted that capital punishment does not act as a deterrent. He claimed that states with the death penalty tend to see more capital crimes being committed. He cited a 2020 study from Japan (published by the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University) that stated, “Neither the death sentence rate nor the execution rate has a statistically significant effect on the homicide and robbery-homicide rates, whereas the life sentence rate has a significant negative effect on the robbery-homicide rate.” 

Another concern is the possibility of executing an innocent person.

“Those of us who follow Jesus Christ must also consider this: Our Lord—who from the cross where he was wrongly executed called out, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’—teaches us that we must be concerned with the soul of the guilty,” Cordileone said. “The death penalty abruptly ends the possibility of conversion and mercy.” 

The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a release on its website. 

“The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation,” St. Pope John Paul II said in 1999, quoted in the USCCB release. “A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. . . . I renew the appeal I made . . . for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.” 

In his encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis reiterated Pope John Paul II's opposition to the death penalty and called for Catholics to work toward its abolition; America Magazine said. 

“Today we state clearly that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible’ and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide,” the pope’s encyclical said. A papal encyclical is an authoritative document.