Francis has long railed against the death penalty, insisting it can never be justified, no matter how heinous the crime. Francis announced his intention to change church teaching on capital punishment in October, when he marked the 25th anniversary of the publication of the catechism itself. Amnesty International, which has long campaigned for a worldwide ban on the death penalty, welcomed the development as an "important step forward." "Already in the past, the church had expressed its aversion to the death penalty, but with words that did not exclude ambiguities," said Riccardo Noury, Amnesty Italia spokesman. "There seems to be also a desire to see the Catholic Church take an active role in the global abolitionist movement," he added.

Source: ABC News August 02, 2018 10:38 UTC