Francis pledged his solidarity after the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings . During his '' Urbi et Orbi '' address in St. Peter 's Square , he said " I wish to express my heartfelt closeness to the Christian community of Sri Lanka , wounded as it was gathered in prayer , and to all the victims of such cruel violence . " In 2014 , Pope Francis proposed the abolition of both capital punishment and life imprisonment in a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Penal Law , suggesting that states should find another way to protect people from aggression , and includes deaths caused by police brutality and extrajudicial punishment . He cited the " traditional teaching of the church " that accepted the death penalty in cases when there are no other options to protect the people ( in line with the Catechism as adapted by John Paul II in 1995 ) , but considered that nowadays such cases may be minimal or even nonexistent . He also stated that life imprisonment , recently removed from the Vatican penal code , was just a variation of the death penalty . In 2018 , he changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church to condemn the death penalty " under all circumstances "
2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
Pope Francis