DEATH PENALTY: The Sword and the Plea

Augustine defended the magistrate’s sword, and begged him not to use it. From Genesis 9:6 to the 2018 Catechism and Pope Leo XIV, this essay weighs the case for and against the death penalty without taking sides, and without hiding the texts that embarrass either party. The Church has always held the sword and the plea together. The question now is whether the plea may become the rule.