San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone used Twitter to reinforce his views in his recent article in America Magazine that focused on the Catholic teaching on the death penalty, saying 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.” 

Abolishing the death penalty is a necessary good, Cordileone said, even though it’s not an “intrinsic evil” like abortion (the killing of an innocent life). In his article, he cited Pope Francis’ decision to revise the Catechism in 2018. It now says that capital punishment “is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and stating that the church works “for its abolition worldwide.” 

Cordileone provided several reasons, including that it doesn’t act as a deterrent. He quoted 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.” 

Cordileone also said the possibility of executing an innocent person should be reason to abolish the death penalty.

“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 wrote in his article. “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) referred to several recent papal statements to back that up.

”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. “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.” 

Pope Francis reiterated Pope John Paul II's opposition to the death penalty when he wrote “Fratelli Tutti.” In it, he called for Catholics to work toward its abolition, according to America Magazine. 

"Today we state clearly that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible’ and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide,” the pope said in his encyclical, which is an authoritative Church document.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) is proud that Minnesota has abolished capital punishment since 1911. Minnesota has seen many attempts to reinstate the death penalty but none have succeeded. 

CMN is committed to fighting against capital punishment in the U.S. According to its website, CMN is a “national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of goodwill to value life over death, to end the use of the death penalty, to transform the U.S. criminal justice system from punitive to restorative, and to build capacity in U.S. society to engage in restorative practices.”