Vatican City, Jun 22, 2016 / 15:37 pm
In a video message sent Wednesday to a gathering of advocates for abolition of the death penalty, Pope Francis welcomed their efforts as a way to promote the right to life of all persons.
"Nowadays the death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person," the Pope said in his June 22 message to the Sixth World Congress against the Death Penalty, which is being held in Oslo this week. More than 1,000 people are in attendance from governments, international organizations, and society.
Capital punishment "is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person," Pope Francis continued. "It likewise contradicts God's plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice."
He expressed his "personal appreciation" to the participants for their "commitment to a world free of the death penalty."