Pope Francis on Thursday called for the abolition of the death penalty while criticizing life jail terms as being the equivalent of a death sentence, saying both robbed humans of their dignity.
"All Christians and men of good will are called today to fight not just for the abolition of the death penalty in all its forms, whether it be legal or illegal, but also the goal of improving prison conditions, out of respect of the human dignity of people deprived of their freedom," the pope said at an audience with the International Association of Penal Law. He added that the Vatican had already removed life prison terms from its criminal code and urged better conditions for prisoners and more humane treatment - including elimination of life sentences.
"A life sentence is a hidden death penalty," said Francis.
He noted that totalitarian regimes often use the death penalty "as an instrument of suppression of political dissent, or of persecution of religious or cultural minorities".
Punishments should never take the form of creating a scapegoat, where one person is blamed and made to suffer for all the problems in the entire community.
Nor should punishment become a form of torture, yet too often that is what prison becomes - for convicted criminals, but also for people who have merely been accused of a crime and held pending trial, said Francis.
Pre-trial custody can be an "illicit and concealed punishment" while lengthy jail terms are "a form of torture".
"Caution in the application of penal codes must be the overarching principle of legal systems," said Francis.
Similarly, the international community must work together in order to collectively help end all forms of torture anywhere it exists in the world.
"These abuses can only be stopped with the firm commitment of the international community (to recognize) the dignity of the human person above all (else)", he said. Nor should children be treated and punished in the criminal system in the same was as adults, warned the pope. "States should refrain from penal punishments of children," he said.
Instead, they should be given "all the privileges the State is able to give," said Francis. The absolute poverty that has trapped "one billion people" is another form of abuse of individuals and a rejection of their humanity and speaks of a larger kind of sickness endemic in society and particularly among its leaders, said the pontiff.
"The scandalous accumulation of global wealth is possible because of the connivance of those with strong powers who are responsible for public affairs," said Francis. "Corruption is a process of death...more evil than sin. An evil that, instead of being forgiven, must be cured".
http://popefrancisnewsapp.com/
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
