468. What is the purpose of punishment?
(Comp 468) A punishment imposed by legitimate public authority has the aim of
redressing the disorder introduced by the offense, of defending public order
and people’s safety, and contributing to the correction of the guilty party.
“In brief”
(CCC 1895) Society ought to promote the exercise of virtue,
not obstruct it. It should be animated by a just hierarchy of values.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2266) The effort of the state to curb the spread of
behaviors harmful to people’s rights and to the basic rules of civil society
correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate
public authority has the right and duty to inflict punishment proportionate to
the gravity of the offense. Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the
disorder introduced by the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty
party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment, then, in addition to defending
public order and protecting people’s safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as
possible it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party (Cf. Lk
23:40-43).
Reflection
(CCC 1888) It is necessary, then, to appeal to the spiritual
and moral capacities of the human person and to the permanent need for his inner conversion, so as to obtain social
changes that will really serve him. The acknowledged priority of the conversion
of heart in no way eliminates but on the contrary imposes the obligation of
bringing the appropriate remedies to institutions and living conditions when
they are an inducement to sin, so that they conform to the norms of justice and
advance the good rather than hinder it (Cf. LG 36).
(Next question: What kind of punishment may
be imposed?)
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