Editor’s note
Mr. Wolf’s catechism appears to be out of date. In 2018, Pope Francis revised No. 2267 to declare the death penalty inadmissible in all cases. In the 2020 encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” the pope affirmed this teaching, carrying the ideas of St. John Paul II to a reasonable conclusion.
Regarding “Go nonpartisan,” Jan. 22, Page 31:

This editorial has reignited my disgust with those who conflate punishment of the guilty with the slaughter of the innocent. It was a partisan attack under the guise of nonpartisanship.

President Trump did everything he could under the authority of the executive branch to reduce or eliminate abortion, including reinstating the Mexico City policy that blocks U.S. federal funding for NGOs that provide abortion counseling or referrals, advocate to decriminalize abortion, or expand abortion services.

President Biden eliminated this policy shortly after taking office. Democrats protect abortion as a plank of their party platform. If it weren’t for this support, abortion in this country would be nearly nonexistent.

The catechism, while it restricts the death penalty, does not forbid it in all cases, (No. 2267) nor has the church ever done so. One of God’s eternal and unchanging first commandments was, “Anyone who sheds the blood of a human being, by a human being shall that one’s blood be shed” (Gen 9.6). This was to emphasize the preciousness of innocent human life.

Lew Wolf

Hillsboro