Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray this September for an end to the death penalty, and we should ask ourselves a key question: Is it really necessary to kill in order to protect society?

“Capital punishment offers no justice to victims, but rather encourages revenge. And it prevents any possibility of undoing a possible miscarriage of justice,” the pope said in a video message Aug. 31.

It is right and just to feel anger at people like the Parkland shooter. What do we do with that anger, though?

“This rush to execute would be reckless in any state, but Oklahoma in particular has a horrendous track record for problematic executions.”

Why is it that so many of us shed tears in remembering Christ’s execution on Good Friday yet condone the state-sanctioned killing of our neighbors throughout the rest of the year?

The Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a 6-3 vote.