“Either scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and all previous popes were wrong—or Pope Francis is.”
This disjunctive argument is sound, logical and clear. Who is wrong? We all know the answer. The goofball from South America.
“This is why Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as John Paul’s chief doctrinal officer, explicitly affirmed in a 2004 memorandum:
“If a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment … he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities … to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible … to have recourse to capital punishment.”