What was once a common part of 19th-century life is depicted in the color engraving “An Execution in Rome for Murder, 1820,” by Richard Bridgens (1785-1846).
In this issue’s cover story, Peter Jesserer Smith traces the development of the Church’s teaching on capital punishment in light of Pope Francis’ revision to the Catechism of the Catholic Church declaring the death penalty “inadmissible.”
Archbishop José H. Gomez explains why the revision is an “authentic development” of doctrine championed by St. Pope John Paul II, and longtime death penalty abolition advocate and LA priest Father Chris Ponnet weighs in on the change.
By Archbishop José H. Gomez
By Peter Jesserer Smith
By R.W. Dellinger
By Clara Fox
By R.W. Dellinger
By Tom Hoffarth
By John L. Allen Jr.
By Kathryn Jean Lopez
By Russell Shaw
By Ruben Navarrette
By Carl Kozlowski
By Heather King