On June 3, 2016 Pope Francis addressed the judges and magistrates of the Vatican, insisting that the Church has a duty to intervene in political issues that cause “open wounds and dramatic suffering.” Citing the current model of the criminal justice system, he decried the prevalence of corruption and strictly penal punishments.

Pope Francis insisted that for true justice, punishment is not enough. Rather, both victims and offenders must be re-educated to give them hope for a successful re-integration into society. “No penalty that doesn’t give hope is valid. If it doesn’t give hope, it’s torture.”

“Forcefully reiterating” the Church’s stance against the death penalty, Pope Francis implores all to “let it be God who chooses when the time has come.”  Source