Chevalier Charles Coulombe on the Death Penalty

The Roman Catechism, a/k/a the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the writing of which was ordered by the Council of Trent, and approved by St Pius V, in its exposition of the Fifth Commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill', states this,

Another kind of lawful slaying belongs to the civil authorities, to whom is entrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which they punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The just use of this power, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this Commandment which prohibits murder. The end of the Commandment- is the preservation and security of human life. Now the punishments inflicted by the civil authority, which is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend to this end, since they give security to life by repressing outrage and violence. Hence these words of David: In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land, that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.

Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church, issued by the authority of Pope John Paul II says,

2267 The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude, presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of the offender, recourse to the death penalty, when this is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor. 

And the Baltimore Catechism, #3, from which countless American Catholics learned their Faith before the Council, says,

Q. 1276. Under what circumstances may human life be lawfully taken?A. Human life may be lawfully taken:  ....
   3. By the lawful execution of a criminal, fairly tried and found guilty of a crime punishable by death when the preservation of law and order and the good of the community require such execution.

To give an idea of the traditional teaching of the Church, here is a list of executions carried out under the authority of the Pope from 1155 until 1870, shortly before the Italian Freemasons captured Rome.

List