Writing about forgiveness can be easy. Encouraging other people to forgive can be easy. But when it comes our own turn to forgive — forgiving another person who has wounded us, stolen from us, humiliated us, destroyed some precious part of our life that we lose forever — forgiveness is never easy.

The "sanctity of the human person" is a powerful and true idea built on powerful and true words. But ultimately, words are cheap. Actions matter. The moment to act is now. It’s time to end capital punishment — now.

On the surface, the case for capital punishment can seem persuasive. Most people live honestly, act decently and want communities governed by justice — for both the innocent and the guilty.

Killing the guilty is the wrong choice for a civilized nation. Why? It accomplishes nothing. It does not bring back or even honor the dead. It does not ennoble the living. And while it may satisfy society's anger for awhile, it cannot even release the murder victim's loved ones from their sorrow. Only forgiveness can do that.

Jesus showed again and again by His words and in His actions, the only true road to justice passes through mercy. Justice cannot be served by more violence. God’s ways are not our ways; they are wiser and better. God’s heart, unlike ours, is driven by love, not anger.

Catholic teaching on the death penalty is best understood by viewing it through two lenses: what it is, and what it is not. The Church’s critique of capital punishment is not an evasion of justice. Victims and their survivors have a right to redress, and the state has a right to enforce that redress and impose grave punishment for grave crimes.

The death penalty is not intrinsically evil. Both Scripture and long Christian tradition acknowledge the legitimacy of capital punishment under certain circumstances.

It is not an idolatry of individual rights — in this case, the rights of the murderer. The right to life of the convicted murderer must be balanced against society’s right to justice and security.

Finally, it is not a false equation of related but distinct issues. Catholic teaching on euthanasia, the death penalty, war, genocide and abortion are rooted in the same concern for the sanctity of the human person. These are different issues that do not all have the same gravity or moral content.

What Catholic teaching on the death penalty does involve is this: a call to set aside unnecessary violence, including violence by the state, in the name of human dignity and the building of a culture of life.

In modern industrialized states, killing convicted murderers adds nothing to anyone’s safety. It is an excess. It cannot be justified except in the most extraordinary conditions. Moreover, for John Paul II, the punishment of any crime should not only seek to redress wrong and protect society. It should also encourage the possibility of repentance, restitution and rehabilitation on the part of the criminal. Execution removes that hope.

In January 2003, the outgoing governor of Illinois took the extraordinary step of pardoning four death row inmates outright and commuting all of the remaining 167 inmates to terms of life imprisonment or less. He explained his actions by saying: "My goal was to stop innocent people (from) being murdered by the state. We almost executed 12 (or) 13 innocent people. We had a system that didn't work." In exercising his power of clemency, he acted well within his rights of office – but even more importantly, he did the right thing.

As citizens, our choices and our actions matter, because they create the kind of future our families and our nation will inhabit. What we choose, what we do, becomes who we are. Choosing against the death penalty is choosing in favor of life. We need to end the death penalty now.