‘His mercy endures forever’: The Church’s merciful teaching on the death penalty
By Caitlyn Trader | For On Mission
In 1902, 11-year-old Maria Goretti was threatened with the severely disordered lust of Alessandro Serenelli, a 20-year-old neighbor who attempted to rape her. When Maria resisted, he stabbed her multiple times, and she died the following day. Before she died, Maria said, “I forgive Alessandro Serenelli… and I want him with me in heaven forever.” [1] After her death, Maria also forgave Serenelli in a particularly moving way: “One night, six years into his prison sentence, Maria appeared to Alessandro. She appeared in a garden picking 14 white lily flowers, handing them to him one by one. This gesture of forgiveness, this act of love, filled Alessandro with light and the Holy Spirit. He immediately became contrite for what he did to that little girl.” [2]
Serenelli’s conversion story was profound, as evidenced by his later becoming a lay brother of the Capuchin Franciscans. Maria Goretti was canonized in 1950.
St. Maria Goretti is a heroic witness of forgiveness, emulating the forgiveness that Christ extended to his persecutors on Calvary as he uttered, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). Forgiveness can be challenging to offer. It’s not hard to imagine that even St. Peter must have been shocked by Jesus’ directive concerning the matter:
“Then Peter approaching asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times’” (Mt 18:21-22).
Sometimes forgiveness leads to inspiring stories, such as the conversion of Serenelli or Longinus, the soldier who “thrust his lance into [Jesus’] side” after his crucifixion (Jn 19:34) and who became a canonized saint. Other times, offenders may not convert. They may remain hardened in sin and vice, but there is always hope that they will convert.
However, if one has committed a grievous offense — such as murder — and is thereafter threatened with the death penalty, he or she is deprived of the opportunity for conversion. “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8), and in his love, he is simultaneously a God of justice and mercy.
Justice, or giving someone his or her due, must necessarily be enforced for those who commit a serious crime (and anytime we commit a sin, for that matter). Thus, it is appropriate that someone who commits the crime of murder serve time in prison, ensuring that they are no longer a danger to society and compelling them to convert from their sinful ways. God is also merciful (Ps 86:5), meaning that he is forgiving and compassionate, and that he offers steadfast love.
God always gives us the opportunity to repent of our sins, particularly through the sacrament of Reconciliation, and to turn back toward him. After all, God deeply desires that we spend eternity with him, which requires our conversion. Even the most hardened criminals must be given the opportunity to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation if they desire it and to convert, a process that sometimes can take weeks, months, or even years.
Therefore, in the present day, the Catholic Church clearly teaches that the death penalty must never be used, a teaching that is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.
“Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.
“Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person’, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide” (CCC 2267, citing Pope Francis).
No matter how grievous one’s sins may be, God is always ready to forgive should one open his or her heart to the Lord; we should not be responsible for depriving one of this tremendous opportunity. This necessarily means that we must forgive others, too, if they committed a serious crime or offended us in some manner, whether serious or petty.
As Jesus exhorts us, “Be merciful, just as… your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). Surely, we want others to forgive us, and we want to be afforded time to convert. We are called to treat others likewise.
Caitlyn Trader holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, and a Master of Science in Bioethics from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. She is a Lecturer of Systematic Theology and works in the field of bioethics.
[1] https://mariagoretti.com/who-is-st-maria/
[2] https://mariagoretti.com/the-murderer/
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