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Greeting Pope Benedict XVI April 15, Richardson asked him to bless the silver olive branch given to him by the Community of Sant'Egidio in recognition of his decision March 18 to sign a bill abolishing the death penalty in New Mexico. Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of Santa Fe said he introduced the governor to Pope Benedict, saying, "Holy Father, this is our governor and he just repealed the death penalty." The archbishop added, "And the pope nodded very happily in agreement."
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One cannot insist enough on the fact that the right to life must be recognized fully. [Governments must enact laws and public policies that] take into account the high value that a human being has at every moment of existence. In this regard, I welcome with joy the initiative of Mexico, which in 2005 eliminated its capital punishment legislation, as well as the recent actions some Mexican states have taken to protect human life from its beginning.
Pope Benedict speaking in Mexico
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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. 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. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.
(Pope John Paul II, St. Louis, MO, January 1999)
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Punishment cannot be reduced to mere retribution, much less take the form of social retaliation or a sort of institutional vengeance. Punishment and imprisonment have meaning if they serve the rehabilitation of the individual by offering those who have made a mistake an opportunity to reflect and to change their lives in order to be fully reintegrated into society.
(Pope John Paul II, Jubilee Homily to Prisoners, Rome, July 2002)
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"Ending the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death and toward building a culture of life.”
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