Archbishop in Barbados rails against the death penalty

Catholic bishops in Barbados have thrown their weight behind a recent decision by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) that ruled the government has breached its charter by mandating the death penalty for murder convicts.

Senior clergy praised the move this month but said more work is needed to eliminate “barbaric” capital punishment from this Caribbean island.

“The CCJ’s decision is a step in the right direction but does not remove the death penalty from the laws in Barbados, so there is still some work to be done,” Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon of Port of Spain and the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Bridgetown, said in a statement, The Daily Herald reports.

“Every life is a precious gift from God,” the statement read. “The taking of one life does not therefore justify the taking of another.”

The CCJ ruled in 2017 that imposing a mandatory death sentence was unconstitutional as it breaches Section 11 of the charter by depriving individuals of the right to have a court of law decide their fate.

In an earlier statement issued in 2016, Archbishop Gordon and other bishops from the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) urged politicians to adopt a “restorative” approach to crime and violence.

“[This] focuses on holding the offender accountable in a more meaningful way and helping to achieve a sense of healing for both victims and the community,” it read.

“It embraces socialization, rehabilitation and reconciliation, rather than retribution and vengeance.”

Pope Francis has described the death penalty as being “contrary to the Gospel,” echoing similar sentiments by his predecessors including St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Gordon said it synchronizes with a “diminishing respect for life” in society and has been met with a spike in violent crimes rather than a reduction.

“The mandatory death penalty [leaves] no room for a judge to consider mitigating circumstances [like] conversion, mercy or forgiveness,” he said.