By: Michael J. Perry
Michael Perry examines the emergence of an international
morality of human rights based upon a shared understanding of the
inherent dignity of each person—an understanding that is certainly
not distinctively Catholic, but that is central to the Catholic
worldview. Perry’s article then asks whether this recognition
of the inherent dignity of the human person requires opposition to
the death penalty. In his search for an answer, Perry examines
the changing ways in which the Catholic Church has wrestled with
the question.