Catholic Social Teaching and the Role of the Prosecutor

• Publication year: 2022
• Citation: Vol. 54

54 Creighton L. Rev. 269. CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING AND THE ROLE OF THE PROSECUTOR

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING AND THE ROLE OF THE PROSECUTOR

ZACHARY B. POHLMAN ^[D1]

[Pilate] said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above . . . ." ^[1]

INTRODUCTION

Prosecutors wield a tremendous amount of power. As the community's chief law enforcement officials, their investigatory, charging, and trial decisions have a direct impact on the liberty of the criminal defendant on the other side. Catholic Social Teaching is a body of thought that, among other things, seeks to uphold the dignity of all human persons-dignity that includes the freedom to shape one's life. Therefore, the sweeping power that prosecutors exercise through their prosecutorial discretion at least raises the question: Is being a prosecutor consistent with the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching?

In this Article, I argue that the answer is a resounding "yes." The body of Catholic Social Teaching and its accompanying commentaries have long recognized the State's legitimate power to punish criminal offenders to promote the common good. But yet to be explored in the literature is the specific role that prosecutors play in effectuating that end. This Article takes a step in advancing that discussion. Based on two primary principles of Catholic Social Teaching-the dignity of the human person and the common good-I hope to show that being a prosecutor is not only consistent with Catholic Social Teaching but can also be a career and vocation that furthers it. This Article concludes by offering some modest suggestions to prosecutors to ensure that their day-to-day decisionmaking is inspired by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.

This Article proceeds in three Parts. Part I discusses the Church's approach to criminal justice by focusing on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching that lay the groundwork for the State's legitimate power to punish criminal offenders. ^[2] Part II explores the role of the prosecutor, including the many opportunities a prosecutor has to exercise, and potentially to abuse, vast amounts of prosecutorial discretion. ^[3] Part III synthesizes Parts I and II and reconciles the tensions between prosecutorial work and Catholic Social Teaching. ^[4] Part III concludes by offering some practical proposals to prosecutors as they carry out their charge to "do justice" in accordance with the Church's social doctrine. ^[5]

I. CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

In order to grapple with the moral questions that arise from exercising the duties of a prosecutor, we must first understand the Catholic Social Teaching on criminal justice in general. If the State's end in pursuing criminal justice is not moral, the prosecutor's end of executing the criminal laws will not be moral either. Or, stated positively, the State's enforcement of criminal laws-including the punishment of offenders-is moral and even desirable so long as it promotes the principles of the Church's social doctrine: the dignity of the human person and the common good first among them.

A. THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON AND THE COMMON GOOD

The dignity of the human person is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching. ^[6] An inviolable gift from God, human dignity is rooted in the revealed truth that all human persons are made in the image of God. ^[7] God created us in unity of body and soul, such that we exist in the material world, and our "bod[ies] [are] . . . temple[s] of the Holy Spirit." ^[8] An implication of this reality is that how we treat our bodies-and how we as a society expect and require others to treat us in return-matters. That is to say that the answers to the moral questions that arise in debates about the criminal justice system-e.g., which crimes ought to be punished and what punishment should look like-are built in part upon presuppositions about what it means to be human. ^[9] As one scholar put it, "moral problems . . . are anthropological problems." ^[10] Therefore, a morally satisfying discussion about criminal justice cannot hide from the fact that all human persons have dignity but must rather embrace it as its first principle.

One aspect of human dignity, specifically our being created in Imago Dei, is our freedom to choose and to shape our lives. ^[11] Indeed, we are endowed with free will so that we can freely choose to follow God. ^[12] Revelation, be it through the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes, provides a rich resource and moral imperatives that can help us navigate life's tough choices. But we, believers and nonbelievers alike, can also turn to the natural law, which is rooted in truth and provides a link between our freedom and moral goodness. ^[13] The natural law is both "natural" and universal because it is promulgated through reason, which is proper to human nature. ^[14] St. Paul explains that the "demands of the [natural] law are written in [the Gentiles'] hearts," and so, on the hearts of all persons. ^[15] St. Thomas Aquinas would later build upon this foundation in his formulation of the natural law's first principle: do good and avoid evil. ^[16]

Since the Fall of Man, however, when "sin came into the world," human nature has been deprived of its original holiness. ^[17] Some who sin are punished for their acts in this life through involvement with the criminal justice system. But despite their sinful acts, those who violate criminal laws retain the inviolable dignity inherent to every human person. ^[18] As Pope John Paul II admonished, "the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil." ^[19] And in the Gospels, Jesus made clear that he "came not to call the righteous but sinners." ^[20] The Church's social teachings, therefore, promote the dignity of the criminal and the victim alike, always seeking the common good through a personalist lens. ^[21] At its core, personalism is a recognition that "[a]ll of social life is an expression of its unmistakable protagonist: the human person." ^[22] Thus, social policies must be evaluated from a perspective that treats as primary the dignity of the human person-a perspective that disavows both radical individualism and state totalitarianism. ^[23]

While the moral vision of Catholic Social Teaching is built upon the dignity of each human person, ^[24] it remains the case that man is "a social being, and unless he relates himself to others he can neither live nor develop his potential." ^[25] As social beings, living in community is a natural characteristic, one that distinguishes us from the rest of the earthly creatures. ^[26] Thus, Catholic Social Teaching recognizes the necessity of living in communion with our neighbors in order to uphold and defend the dignity of the human person. The Church therefore calls everyone to promote the common good of society-i.e., the amalgamation of social conditions that allow human persons to flourish. ^[27] The common good is "common" because everyone necessarily participates in it and has an attendant responsibility to further it. ^[28] And while the specific demands of the common good are historically and geographically contingent, certain precepts of the common good persist across all times and cultures-among them the commitment to peace, the limited and just empowerment of the State, a sound juridical system, and the pursuit of justice. ^[29]

Central to safeguarding these aspects of the common good is a sound criminal justice system. Of course, a Catholic approach to criminal justice must begin with the dignity of the human person. ^[30] This requires standing in solidarity with crime victims, reaching out to them with compassion and understanding. ^[31] At the same time, it requires punishing criminal offenders, both to protect society ^[32] and to redress the harms caused to the direct victims and to society as a whole. ^[33] Pursuant to the principle of subsidiarity, groups within civil society-the Church included-are often the most appropriate associations to minister to crime victims, ^[34] but the State alone has the right and duty to inflict punishments upon criminal offenders. ^[35] The basis for the State's power, including the power to imprison, its role within civil society, the purposes of punishment, and the value of justice are thus critical pieces to constructing a criminal justice system that promotes the common good. Each of these pieces is explored in the following Section.

B. THE STATE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

While all human persons have a responsibility to promote the common good, the State is uniquely situated to contribute to that end. ^[36] Before unpacking the State's power to punish and deter crime as one aspect of its promoting the common good, it is necessary to understand not only the distinction between State and society but also man's relationship with each. The personalist principle requires that man be at the center of evaluating the state of the social order. ^[37]

At its core, "[t]he State is for man," not vice versa. ^[38] Jacques Maritain explains this precept philosophically by distinguishing the Body Politic from the State. The former flows from man's social nature, with "friendship [a]s...