VATICAN CITY – In a rare appeal during his weekly address at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis on Sunday called on U.S. authorities to commute the sentences of prisoners on death row.
“Today, it comes to my heart to ask all of you to pray for the prisoners in the United States who are on death row,” the Pope said. “Let’s pray that their sentence would be commuted or changed.”
The pontiff, a staunch opponent of capital punishment, updated Catholic Church teachings in 2018 to explicitly oppose the death penalty, declaring it inadmissible under any circumstances.
Though Pope Francis has consistently condemned the practice, he rarely singles out specific countries. His statement comes as the United States has approximately 2,250 individuals on death row, with about 40 awaiting federal execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
American Catholic groups have been urging President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to commute federal death sentences before leaving office, aligning with the Pope’s broader campaign against the death penalty.