Close Menu
WTX News
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Arrests made at protest for Palestine Action in London
    • Jamie Overton replaces Saqib Mahmood in England XI for third ODI
    • Sure! Here’s the text without the site name, category, date, and full stops: “It blew my mind as a kid” TV fans reveal best sci-fi series ever
    • Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to humanitarian area
    • Mauricio Pochettino ‘shocked’ by Daniel Levy’s Tottenham exit
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    WTX News
    • Live News
      • US News
      • EU News
      • UK News
      • Politics
      • COVID-19
      • Business
      • Tech zone
    • World news
      • Middle East News
        • UAE News
        • Palestine News
      • Europe
        • Italian News
        • Spanish News
      • Africa news
      • South America
      • North America
      • Asia
    • News Briefings
      • UK News Briefing
      • World News Briefing
      • Live Business News
    • Sports
      • Football News
      • Tennis
      • Women’s Football
    • MY World
      • Climate Change
      • In Review
      • Expose
      • Special Reports
        • Conscience Convoy
        • Rohingya Report
    • Entertainment
      • Insta Talk
      • Royal Family
      • Gaming News
      • TV Shows
      • Streaming
    • Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • Fashion
      • Cooking recipes
      • Luxury
      • Money Saving Expert
    • Travel
      • Culture
      • Holidays
    • Sign Up
      • Log In
    WTX News
    • Live News
    • World news
    • News Briefings
    • Sports
    • MY World
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Sign Up
    Home - UK News - Pope Francis dies latest: Prince of Wales to attend funeral on behalf of King; details of final hours emerge

    Pope Francis dies latest: Prince of Wales to attend funeral on behalf of King; details of final hours emerge

    Pope Francis dies latest: Prince of Wales to attend funeral on behalf of King; details of final hours emerge

    Pope Francis dies latest: Prince of Wales to attend funeral on behalf of King; details of final hours emerge

    • WTX News Editor
    • April 22, 2025
    • 4:46 pm
    • No Comments

    Cliff Notes

    • Pope Francis declared the death penalty inadmissible in all circumstances, urging for its abolition and advocating for improved prison conditions to honour human dignity.
    • His lifelong commitment to helping the poor included regular visits to prisons and underprivileged communities, exemplified by a recent visit to inmates just days before his death.
    • Francis emphasized the responsibility of Christians to promote compassion and respect for all individuals, including those incarcerated.

    Pope Francis dies latest: Prince of Wales to attend funeral on behalf of King; details of final hours emerge | World News

    Many observers agree that Pope Francis leaves behind a legacy of reform, modernisation and compassion.

    We’ve already looked at two areas on this in our Francis the reformer posts – his (relatively) warm stance towards the LGBTQ+ community (12.43 post), and his less flexible stance on contraception (13.50 post).

    Now, a look at how he approached the death penalty and prisons.

    ‘All Christians should struggle for end of death penalty’

    Francis changed the church’s position on the death penalty, declaring it inadmissible in all circumstances.

    In 2014, he said: “It is impos­si­ble to imag­ine that states today can­not make use of anoth­er means than cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment to defend peo­ples’ lives from an unjust aggres­sor.”

    He cit­ed the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says that the death penal­ty can be used only if it is the ​”only pos­si­ble way of effec­tive­ly defend­ing human lives against the unjust aggres­sor,” and that mod­ern alter­na­tives for pro­tect­ing soci­ety mean that ​”cas­es in which the exe­cu­tion of the offend­er is an absolute neces­si­ty are very rare, if not prac­ti­cal­ly nonex­is­tent”.

    But Francis went further, calling for compassion and better conditions in prisons, too.

    Pope Francis added at the time: “All Christians and peo­ple of good will are thus called today to strug­gle not only for abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty, whether it be legal or ille­gal and in all its forms, but also to improve prison con­di­tions, out of respect for the human dig­ni­ty of per­sons deprived of their lib­er­ty.”

    Lifelong commitment to ‘do what Jesus did’

    Francis was committed to helping the poor and disadvantaged throughout his life, including before his time as pontiff.

    In Argentina, as a younger man, he spent weekends visiting the disadvantaged parishes. He would visit prisons then, too, travelling by bus or metro to speak to prisoners, the poor and priests in slums and jails.

    And last Thursday, just a few days before his death, while frail himself, Francis kept an appointment to visit a prison in Rome.

    He met for nearly 30 minutes with some 70 inmates at the Regina Caeli prison in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood.

    It’s a prison Francis has visited before to perform the annual Holy Thursday ritual of washing the feet of 12 people to re-enact Christ’s gesture of humble service of washing the feet of 12 apostles before his crucifixion.

    Francis told the inmates he couldn’t do it this year, given his health, but wanted to nevertheless be with them and “do what Jesus did on Holy Thursday”.

    Pope Francis declared the death penalty inadmissible in all circumstances, urging for its abolition and advocating for improved prison conditions to honour human dignity.
    Advertisment
    News Headlines
    Arrests made at protest for Palestine Action in London

    Arrests made at protest for Palestine Action in London

    Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to humanitarian area

    Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to humanitarian area

    Save 70% on VIP subscription
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    News Briefings - the way to a better life
    Advert by Sponsors
    More from WTX News
    The latest gaming news - with game reviews and tips and tricks. updated 24 hours a day.
    The latest gaming news
    Hot off the press!
    • Arrests made at protest for Palestine Action in London September 6, 2025
    • Jamie Overton replaces Saqib Mahmood in England XI for third ODI September 6, 2025
    • Sure! Here’s the text without the site name, category, date, and full stops: “It blew my mind as a kid” TV fans reveal best sci-fi series ever September 6, 2025
    • Israel warns Gaza City residents to flee south to humanitarian area September 6, 2025
    • Mauricio Pochettino ‘shocked’ by Daniel Levy’s Tottenham exit September 6, 2025
    wtx news brings you the latest news, a UK news briefing, Sports analysis, and premier league news with a special round-up of Business and crypto updates
    Facebook X (Twitter) TikTok Instagram

    News

    • World News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • EU News
    • Business
    • Opinions
    • News Briefing
    • Live News

    Company

    • About WTX News
    • Register
    • Advertising
    • Work with us
    • Contact
    • Community
    • GDPR Policy
    • Privacy

    Services

    • Fitness for free
    • Insta Talk
    • How to guides
    • Climate Change
    • In Review
    • Expose
    • NEWS SUMMARY
    • Money Saving Expert

    News delivered to your inbox

    Copyright WTX News 2025

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.