"Catholics Against Capital Punishment" and like minded individuals or groups, including Catholic Church officials who oppose God's mandated punishment for a growing list of crimes particularly offensive to Him, are in a state of heresy. Priests of all ranks who are supposed to know the Sacred Scriptures, particularly inexcusable for not knowing them are those at the higher levels, should be considered as heretics and under automatic excommunication (Can. 1364 © 1983 – Can. 2314 © 1917). Without (public) repentance they will be condemned to Hell for all eternity. No Church teaching is valid that diminishes or opposes the clear commands found in God's holy Word. (Pope Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus, n. 20).

        While it is without doubt true that some who are put death are innocent of the specified capital crime, it is also true that one's relationship with God is the important value to be considered. Knowing when one is to die gives that person great advantage for repentance of whatever sin he or she may be guilty. False accusers, defective prosecutors, corrupt judges, careless investigators, etc., who die without appropriate restitution and repentance, will suffer in the next life. The concerns should always be considered in respect to giving preference to spiritual values over humanistic values. Those against Capital Punishment assertively are focused upon humanistic values.

        According to God's Word executions should take place without undo delay and should be public, preferably with general participation according to the dictates of God's Holy Word. (Dt. 17:7  "At the execution, the witnesses are to be the first to raise their hands against him; afterward all the people are to join in. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.")

        The following is taken from the Roman pontifical, copyright 1978 – From the ceremony for the Ordination of priests, page 192.

Every ordaining bishop is to instruct ordinandi as follows:

        "My sons, you are now to be advanced to the order of the presbyterate.  You must apply your energies to the duty of teaching in the name of Christ, the chief Teacher.  Share with all mankind the word of God you have received with joy.  Meditate on the law of God, believe what you read, teach what you believe, and put into practice what you teach."

        This is a requisite that all faithful priests practice.  The Word of God begins with the first verse of Genesis and does not end until the last verse of the Apocalypse (Revelation).  Scriptures, when taken and understood as a whole unit, have been declared infallible and may not be ignored.

1.  Lk 4:21  He (Jesus) said to them, "Today this (O.T.) scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
2.  Jn 2:22  Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
3.  Jn 10:35   If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside,
4.  2Ti 3:16  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (at this juncture the Old Testament was the accepted Scripture.)

        While a moral pope has the authority to both bind and later to revise or set aside a disciplinary teaching, no pope has the authority to alter the Word of God.  He cannot diminish it, terminate it, or reverse it.  A moral pope is also the approved authority for making binding decisions regarding faith and morals in accordance with the teachings of Sacred Scripture.  However, a future moral pope has the authority to revise such pronouncement.  A moral pope has the authority to both bind and loose.  (Mt. 16:19)  [ Test the Spirits ]

        No individual or group of individuals can share in the final authority of a moral pope, even if functioning as a formal council of the Church.  Any pronouncements issuing forth from a council or other group of advisors is not authoritative unless officially approved by a moral pope.  Such dictums can be revised or reversed, in whole or in part, by a future moral pope.

        By direct command of God, to Noah and his sons, murderers were to be put to death.  Moses reinforced this command but allowed for adjusted penalties regarding the unintentional killing of a human being.  This command is acknowledged by Jesus prior to His death.  It is further reinforced elsewhere in the New Testament.

5.  Jn. 19:10-11  So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me?  Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?"  Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.  For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin."
6.  Gn. 9:5-7  from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.  If anyone sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made.  Be fertile then and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it."
7.  Ex. 21:12  "Whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death.
8.  Lv. 24:17  "Whoever takes the life of any human being shall be put to death;
9.  Nm. 35:30  "Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required for the execution of the murderer.  The evidence of a single witness is not sufficient for putting a person to death. ...31 "You shall not accept indemnity in place of the life of a murderer who deserves the death penalty; he must be put to death. ...33 You shall not desecrate the land where you live.  Since bloodshed desecrates the land, the land can have no atonement for the blood shed on it except through the blood of him who shed it.
10.  Dt. 19:11-13  "However, if someone lies in wait for his neighbor out of hatred for him, and rising up against him, strikes him mortally, and then takes refuge in one of these cities, the elders of his own city shall send for him and have him taken from there, and shall hand him over to be slain by the avenger of blood.  Do not look on him with pity, but purge from Israel (people of faith) the stain of shedding innocent blood, that you may prosper.

        All passages of Scripture are to be understood in the light of the whole.  Viewing a particular passage, out of context, may lead to erroneous interpretation.

        People of faith may not morally oppose a God mandated death penalty without being in opposition to God Himself.  If someone is unjustly convicted then evidence of his or her innocence should certainly be brought forward.  If a person is unjustly put to death and is in the state of grace, such person will enter Heaven.  We are all under the sentence of death.  Generally we do not know when we will be called from this life.  Someone about to be put to death has extra opportunity to prepare for his scheduled death.

Safeguard against unjust executions:

        If one is concerned about the execution of an innocent person then one should spend their time in promoting the following passages of Scripture.

11.  Dt. 19:16-21  "If an unjust witness (includes police, prosecutors, judges, govenors, etc.) takes the stand against (or acts against) a man to accuse him of a defection from the (just) law, the two parties in the dispute shall appear before the LORD in the presence of the priests or judges in office at that time; and if after a thorough investigation the judges find that the witness is a false witness and has accused his kinsman falsely, you shall do to him as he planned to do to his kinsman.  Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.  The rest, on hearing of it, shall fear, and never again do a thing so evil among you.  Do not look on such a man with pity.  Life for life," (Jesus did not remove this portion of the penalties.)
12.  Dan. 13:61b-62  According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death.  Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

        Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ (b. April 21, 1939), and like minded others, should take to heart the Word of God and not bring themselves to destruction.  This includes priests, bishops, cardinals and popes who are now or will be condemned for maintaining or ignoring positions against the known teachings of God.

        At the word of our first pope, Peter, two people were put to death.  There are other supporting positions for capital punishment in the New Testament:

13.  Acts 5:5-10  When Ananias heard these words he fell down and breathed his last and great fear came upon all who heard of it.  The young men came and wrapped him up then carried him out and buried him.  After an interval of about three hours his wife (Sapphira) came in unaware of what had happened.  Peter said to her "Tell me, did you sell the land for this amount?"  She answered "Yes, for that amount."  Then Peter said to her "Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?  Listen, the footsteps of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out."  At once she fell down at his feet and breathed her last.  (Note: Both Ananias and Sapphira had quick easy deaths but will suffer with the damned for eternity.)
14.  Acts 25:11  If I have committed a crime or done anything deserving death I do not seek to escape the death penalty; but if there is no substance to the charges they are bringing against me then no one has the right to hand me over to them.
15.  Rom. 1:32  Although they know the just decree of God that all who practice such things deserve death they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
16.  Heb. 10:28  Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

        It is the second death that should be of greatest concern. If one does not believe, who has been properly instructed, then such person is subject to the second death.

17.  Rev. 21:8  "But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste (guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse – sodomites [includes those who practice any form of pregnancy or live birth avoidance], adulterers, etc.), sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

        An infallible (unchangeable) teaching dealing with a matter of faith or morals is one that is universal (applies to everyone).  Nothing that is purely of a disciplinary nature can ever be considered as unchangeable.

        The reference to Peter (Rock = solid foundation) by Jesus was that the papacy (Simon bar Jonah and his moral successors) had the authority to make binding rules and to release (change or remove) rules that had been made at some time in the past.  It should be understood that the Word of God itself cannot be diminished or reversed nor would any matter pertaining to a valid teaching regarding faith or morals be subject to diminishing, reversal, or termination.

18.  "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven.  Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven."  (Mt. 16:19)

        For an individual to break a legitimate rule of discipline would be mortal sin so long as it remained both a legal and a moral rule.  Nothing can ever be considered as binding that does not equally and universally apply to everyone in a particular state of life (priests, etc.).

        Any religious legal authority who opposes or does not reasonably enforce God's teachings must not be considered as a moral authority who must be obeyed concerning matters of faith and morals.  They may be under automatic excommunication for the sin of omission.  (Can. 1329 § 2, 1389 § 1 & 2).

19.  1Th. 5:21  Test everything; retain what is good.
20.  1Jn. 4:1  Beloved do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
21.  1Jn. 4:3  and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that as you heard is to come but in fact is already in the world.
22.  Acts. 5:29  But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men.
23.  2 Tim. 3:15-17  and that from infancy you have known (the) sacred scriptures which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching for refutation for correction and for training in righteousness so that one who belongs to God may be competent equipped for every good work.

        St. Thomas teaches where there is public scandal that poses a danger to the Faith or to the common good of the Church it is an act of charity to rebuke in public even one's superior for causing that scandal – including the Pope himself as St. Paul did with St. Peter when Peter scandalously refused to eat with the very Gentiles he was supposed to be converting.  (Galatians 2:11, 14-19).

        All the more does charity require one priest to rebuke his fellow priest publicly when public scandal has been given.

24.  James 4:17  So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it is a sin.
25.  Rev. 19:20  The beast was caught and with it the false prophet who had performed in its sight the signs by which he led astray those who had accepted the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped its image.  The two were thrown alive into the fiery pool burning with sulfur.
26.  Rev. 20:10  The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were.  There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
27.  Titus 1:13  That testimony is true.  Therefore admonish them sharply so that they may be sound in the faith
28.  Hebrews 10:26  If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth there no longer remains sacrifice for sins

        Large numbers of bishops, of all ranks as well as the majority of priests, will be condemned to Hell if they do not publicly repent of their failure to speak out clearly in opposition to abortion murder.  To give Holy Communion to a publicly known figure giving any sort of approval to abortion is desecration of the Holy Eucharist, a grave crime calling for automatic excommunication according to Canon Law.

        Are there now very many priests who can validly consecrate the Holy Eucharist?

        No intrinsically evil person can directly associate with bringing forth the universal and timeless miracle of the Last Supper in which the faithful are intended to share.

        It can readily understand why a person who has themself committed a death penalty offense would be opposed to capital punishment. Current death penalty offenses are found in the writings of the Old Testament, murder (includes procurred abortion), same sex sexual activity, bestiality, adultery, incest, kidnaping, etc. when committed in the first degree.  None have been abrogated by the teachings of Jesus or the New Testament writers.  All of the foregoing are major offenses, but some may be considered as being limited by particular circumstances.  The above offenses (and others) are seen as diriment impediments to the clerical state.

Can. 1329 §1  Where a number of persons conspire together to commit an offence, and accomplices are not expressly mentioned in the law or precept, if ferendae sententiae penalties were constituted for the principal offender, then the others are subject to the same penalties or to other penalties of the same or a lesser gravity.
        §2 In the case of a latae sententiae penalty attached to an offence, accomplices, even though not mentioned in the law or precept, incur the same penalty if, without their assistance, the crime would not have been committed, (this applies to congressmen, judges, etc.) and if the penalty is of such a nature as to be able to affect them; otherwise, they can be punished with ferendae sententiae penalties.

Can. 1389 §1  A person who abuses ecclesiastical power or an office, is to be punished according to the gravity of the act or the omission, not excluding by deprivation of the office, unless a penalty for that abuse is already established by law or precept.
        §2 A person who, through culpable negligence, unlawfully and with harm to another, performs or omits an act of ecclesiastical power or ministry or office, is to be punished with a just penalty.

29. Eze. 3:16 [17a]-21  Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel.  When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.
        If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death.  If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life.
        If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die.  He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him.  When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.

30.  Eze. 33:7-20  You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.  If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.  But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.
        As for you, son of man, speak to the house of Israel: You people say, "Our crimes and our sins weigh us down; we are rotting away because of them.  How can we survive?"  Answer them: As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live.  Turn, turn from your evil ways!  Why should you die, O house of Israel?
        As for you, son of man, tell your countrymen: The virtue which a man has practiced will not save him on the day that he sins; neither will the wickedness that a man has done bring about his downfall on the day that he turns from his wickedness (nor can the virtuous man, when he sins, remain alive).  Though I say to the virtuous man that he shall surely live, if he then presumes on his virtue and does wrong, none of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong he has done, he shall die.  And though I say to the wicked man that he shall surely die, if he turns away from his sin and does what is right and just, giving back pledges, restoring stolen goods, living by the statutes that bring life, and doing no wrong, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  None of the sins he committed shall be held against him; he has done what is right and just, he shall surely live.
        Yet your countrymen say, "The way of the LORD is not fair!"; but it is their way that is not fair.  When a virtuous man turns away from what is right and does wrong, he shall die for it.  But when a wicked man turns away from wickedness and does what is right and just, because of this he shall live.  And still you say, "The way of the LORD is not fair!"?  I will judge every one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.

31.  James 4:17  So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

32.  1 Cor. 9:16  If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!

33.  Lk. 6:43-45  "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.  A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

34.  Gal. 5:16-26  I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.  But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.  Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.  Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

35.  Rev. 22:18-19  I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book (Revelation): if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.

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