The Holy Father Pope Francis has approved the following revision to the Catechism of the Catholic Church recommended by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (August 1, 2018). It reflects the gradual development of the Church’s teaching that the death penalty is “inadmissible” and should be abolished. Here is the new text:
The death penalty
2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.