Pope Francis died last week at his home in Rome from a stroke and irreversible heart failure. He was 88.
In the 12 years he led the Catholic Church, Pope Francis continued the mission of his religious order, the Society of Jesus, to care for the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. So, in 2018, when he officially changed the Church’s teaching on the death penalty, revising its Catechism by declaring it “inadmissible” in all cases, he was simply being true to his training.
The death penalty is an offense “against the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human person,” he said when he announced the change. He pledged to lead the Church in working to abolish the death penalty worldwide because there are “more efficient detention systems,” and it is “unnecessary as protection for the life of innocent people.”
Pope Francis served for only 12 years, but by taking a strong moral stance against state killing by emphasizing the worth of every human being, he secured his standing as a man of unparalleled decency and compassion in a world where those traits are increasingly difficult to find in our religious and secular leaders.
He was a hero to our movement and will be greatly missed.
