You are confusing self defense with the defense of a nation (which requires an army). And all the teachings of Christ were in the context of personal relations.
Self-defense (or the defense of family or loved ones) is not forbidden. Neither is the execution of criminals and evildoers. Only murder is forbidden. Thou shalt do no murder is what Scripture says. Which includes self-murder (suicide).
You are confusing self defense with the defense of a nation (which requires an army). And all the teachings of Christ were in the context of personal relations.
Self-defense (or the defense of family or loved ones) is not forbidden. Neither is the execution of criminals and evildoers. Only murder is forbidden. Thou shalt do no murder is what Scripture says. Which includes self-murder (suicide).
This is what the pope said a few days ago.
That "public opinion is manifesting a growing opposition to the death penalty, even as a means of legitimate social defence," he called a "sign of hope."
In addition to being offensive to the inviolability of human life, Pope Francis said that the death penalty is not "consonant with any just purpose of punishment."
"It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. The commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty."
Recalling the Jubilee of Mercy being celebrated currently, the Roman Pontiff said the year is "an auspicious occasion for promoting worldwide ever more evolved forms of respect for the life and dignity of each person."
"It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal," he exhorted.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter's Square (Daniel Ibanez/CNA).
In addition to calling for an end to capital punishment, Pope Francis called on the participants to work for the improvement of prison conditions "so that they fully respect the human dignity of those incarcerated."
He reiterated that rendering justice "does not mean seeking punishment for its own sake, but ensuring that the basic purpose of all punishment is the rehabilitation of the offender."
The question of justice should be answered "within the larger framework of a system of penal justice open to the possibility of the guilty party's reinsertion in society," he said.
"There is no fitting punishment without hope! Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment."
Pope Francis' video message echoed earlier calls he has made for an end to the use of the death penalty. His immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, also spoke out against its use in modern society.