The Pope’s prayer intention for September is “that the death penalty, which attacks the dignity of the human person, may be legally abolished in every country.”

“Capital punishment offers no justice to victims, but rather encourages revenge,” the Pope said in a video on the prayer intention. “And it prevents any possibility of undoing a possible miscarriage of justice.”

“In the light of the Gospel, the death penalty is unacceptable, because the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ refers to both the innocent and the guilty,” he added, as he described efforts to abolish the death penalty worldwide as a “sign of hope.”