If you don’t think CCC#675 is in play right now, think again. We’ve reached the point where the Vatican is attempting to deflect from the infestation of moral decay within the episcopate by publishing heresy in the Catechism. This is the Antichurch in ascendancy.
The death penalty is not unjust, it is just. It is not unmerciful, it is merciful. It is a means of repentance, forgiveness, and salvation. It forces the penitent (that’s why it’s called a ‘penitentiary’) to reflect more deeply on his sins as his time draws near, and hopefully experience a conversion. Justice demands this. Failing to dispense proportional punishment for a criminal act, is itself a criminal act. But for someone who doesn’t believe in the supernatural, doesn’t believe in the eternal life of the soul, none of this makes sense.
Anyway, I’m short on time, and Ann has already put up a bunch of proofs from Doctors or the Church and others. The title quote is from the brilliant John Senior, whom I’ve quoted many times on this site. Read it all HERE.
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Slight disagreement with the quote Ann has from Cardinal Avery Dulles. He says “[c]onsistency with scripture and long-standing Catholic tradition is important for the grounding of many current teachings of the Catholic Church; for example, those regarding abortion, contraception, the permanence of marriage, and the ineligibility of women for priestly ordination.” While consistency is certainly helpful, all but one can be readily ascertained simply from natural law. The only one that really does seem to depend upon long-standing Catholic tradition is women’s ordination. The others, with or without the Catholic Church (and long predating its establishment), are knowable from reason.
Not to worry. The Pope came out with a clarification:
https://babylonbee.com/news/death-penalty-still-permissible-for-people-who-drive-slowly-in-the-left-lane-pope-francis-clarifies/