The death penalty and human dignity. (Letters to the Editor).

The article "Ten Anti-Death Penalty Fallacies" by Thomas Eddlem in the June 3rd issue was excellent. However, he left out the most important objection to the death penalty, one voiced by Pope John Paul Hand the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Pope, a great defender of human dignity, has continually referred to the "Culture of Death" pervading our society.

Acknowledging that the death penalty can be "well-founded," he stresses that the execution of someone who deserves it perpetuates and feeds into a society that accepts the death penalty, not only for the unborn and aged, but now the handicapped, according to Peter Singer. The view which is expressed in the Catechism is that "if bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives against an aggressor and to protect public order and the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person."

JACK HOCKEL, D.D.S.

Walnut Creek, California