BUOYED by the latest encyclical from Pope Francis, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) affirmed Saturday, October 10, its staunch opposition to the revival of death penalty in the Philippines.
In its statement for the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) said the Catholic Church remains and shall remain strongly opposed to capital punishment.
"Pope Francis has exhorted countless times that capital punishment is an offense against the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human person, which contradicts God’s plan for man and society and does not render justice to the victims, but rather only fosters vengeance," said CBCP-ECPPC chairman Bishop Joel Baylon.
"In his latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti, he said the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice, and that there can be no stepping back from this position as he clearly stated that the death penalty is inadmissible, and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide," he added.
Baylon said this is because death penalty violates the inherent dignity of a human person, which is not lost despite the commission of a crime.
"No person, no matter how evil he is perceived to be, is beyond reformation," said the prelate.
The CBCP also stressed that death penalty does not deter crime as there are no conclusive studies, local or foreign, to support this argument.
"On the contrary, a 2009 research found out that the death penalty does not add any significant deterrent effect above that of long-term imprisonment. Thus, it is merely speculative," he said.
The Legazpi prelate also underscored how death sentence is irreversible.
"Once carried out, there is no possibility for rectifying an erroneous judgment by an imperfect system," said Baylon.
He also said that death penalty is nothing but vengeance and punishment, instead of being restorative.
"It should give the person the chance to change for the better, no matter how slim the chance may be," he said.
The CBCP-ECPPC head said death penalty is anti-poor and marginalized.
"Experience shows that most, if not all, persons meted the death penalty are poor and uneducated, who cannot afford quality legal representation to defend them," said Baylon.
In the Philippines, no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has been calling on Congress to reinstate death penalty by lethal injection. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)