Why Philly Is the Perfect Place for the Pope to Denounce the Death Penalty | Sojourners

Why Philly Is the Perfect Place for the Pope to Denounce the Death Penalty

Image via Jake Kitchener/Flickr

I can’t help but think old William Penn would be proud of Gov. Wolf earlier this year as he made his announcement to halt all executions. Penn was a pacifist and a serious skeptic of capital punishment. His Quaker heritage held that every human being carries the essence of God, and that no one should ever take the life of another, not even the state.

As Pope Francis leads worship on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the heart of Philadelphia, a statue of William Penn will be looking down on him from atop City Hall, and I can’t help but think our Quaker forefather will be smiling — especially as Pope Francis continues to insist that every person carries the image of God in them… and that no one is beyond redemption.

I look forward to the end of the death penalty, and I hope we get one step closer to it as the pope comes to the City of Brotherly Love.

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