The death penalty is likely for three top Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia. Rights activist claim the clerics are facing charges of promoting an extremist agenda. The clerics’ prosecution and possible execution is unusual in Saudi Arabia where religious leaders are usually seen as untouchable. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been taking strong action Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Death penalty’
The pope is right: the death penalty has no place in Catholicism
Thursday, August 9th, 2018
For those who often saw the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires at anti-death penalty gatherings in the years before he became pope, his move to formally change official church teaching on the issue will have come as no surprise. The official Vatican declaration that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on Read more
Death penalty catechism change: internationally important
Thursday, August 9th, 2018
Pope Francis has changed the catechism to ensure the church’s opposition to the death penalty is clear. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is of universal importance to Catholics, the change will spread the church teaching about capital punishment throughout the world. It will also require Catholics to work towards abolishing the death Read more
Indonesian Catholics want mercy for terrorist
Thursday, May 24th, 2018Leading Catholics in terrorism-plagued Indonesia have criticized prosecutors who demanded the death sentence for the terrorist allegedly behind a deadly spate of suicide bombings and attacks against police that have left many dead. Continue reading
Pope Francis is more evolution than revolution
Thursday, October 19th, 2017
ROME – Two stories about Pope Francis over the last few days have elicited either praise or criticism, depending on one’s point of view, but also pivoting on a perception that’s actually questionable: To wit, that once again, this maverick pontiff is breaking the mold. The first story came on Thursday, when Francis spoke at Read more
Death penalty inhumane, Catechism should oppose it says Pope
Thursday, October 12th, 2017
“The death penalty is ‘inadmissible’ under any circumstance,” says Pope Francis. Speaking during the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s revised publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Francis said the death penalty violates the Gospel and amounts to the voluntary killing of a human life, which “is always sacred in the eyes Read more
The death penalty in United States under spotlight
Friday, October 7th, 2016The death penalty in the United States is being re-examined. Two cases are in front of the Supreme Court at present. There are also three referendums on state ballots in the November election. In the two death penalty cases before the court, both from Texas, one examines information given to jurors. The other questions whether Read more
Drug titan Pfizer bans its products from death penalty use
Tuesday, May 17th, 2016Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has said it is banning its drugs from use in lethal injections. The company is the last major drug manufacturer to take this action. The decision has seen campaigners against the death penalty in the US say they are now close to ending the practice. Continue reading
Pope appeals for world abolition of death penalty
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016Pope Francis has appealed for an international consensus to abolish the death penalty. Speaking at St Peter’s Square on Sunday, the Pope said “Thou shalt not kill applies to the guilty as well as the innocent”. The Pontiff said the commandment has “absolute value”. He asked politicians around the world to “make a courageous and Read more
Aust bishops offer to help govt work against death penalty
Friday, October 30th, 2015Australia’s Catholic bishops have offered the Church’s help for the Australian government’s international work to abolish the death penalty. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president, Archbishop Denis Hart, wrote to a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty. “The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference would be happy to assist the Australian Read more