"x x x.
It would have been interesting to see the reaction of the court's most outspoken "originalist" and death penalty supporter, Scalia, as the Pope highlighted his opposition to the death penalty with a reference to the golden rule, stating:
"... This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty. I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty. Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation."
Undoubtedly the court's Catholic justices anticipated the Pope's anti-death penalty references, given the letter he sent to the International Commission Against the Death Penalty in March in which he noted: "It is an offense to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person which contradicts God's plan for man and for society and his merciful justice, and it fails to conform to any just purpose of punishment. ... It does not render justice to the victims, but rather foments revenge."
x x x."
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