Michael Knowles, Kirk’s Catholic Acolyte, Attacks Church Teaching on the Death Penalty
Michael Knowles openly rejects the Church’s magisterial teaching, exposing the growing rift between MAGA Catholics and the universal Church.
Conservative commentator Michael Knowles — often described as Charlie Kirk’s closest Catholic ally — made headlines last week by defending the death penalty on Christian grounds.
Speaking in the wake of Kirk’s tragic assassination, Knowles insisted that forgiving the murderer does not preclude “justice,” openly suggesting that executing the killer is warranted. He even invoked St. Paul’s teaching that civil authority “does not bear the sword in vain” (Romans 13:4) as if Scripture itself mandates capital punishment. In reality, Knowles’ argument distorts Catholic faith.
The Church is not a solo scriptura community; it relies on a living tradition and magisterial teaching. And that teaching today could not be clearer: the death penalty has no place in Catholic morality.
Pope Francis, John Paul II, and Ending Capital Punishment
Knowles’ stance flies in the face of definitive Catholic teaching. Pope Francis — building on the legacy of Pope St. John Paul II — has formally declared that capital punishment is “inadmissible” in the modern world.
John Paul II had already narrowed the allowance for executions in the 1990s, calling them acceptable only if absolutely necessary to protect society.
Pope Francis went further: in 2018, he revised the Catechism to state that the death penalty is an attack on human dignity and must be abolished.
In short, the Catholic Church now teaches that no matter the crime, executing a person violates the sanctity of life and human dignity. Francis “committed the Catholic Church to [the] worldwide abolition” of capital punishment.
Thus, Knowles’ portrayal of Catholic tradition is outdated at best and deceitful at worst. Selectively quoting St. Paul doesn’t change the fact that Pope Francis — echoing Christ’s call to mercy — has closed the door on the death penalty as a morally acceptable option.
A Broader Rebellion Against Church Teaching
Unfortunately, Knowles’ rhetoric is part of a broader effort by some Catholic conservatives to defy or roll back Church teaching on this issue. He is effectively Charlie Kirk’s top Catholic disciple in pushing a culture-war agenda, even when it contradicts the pope.
This movement includes figures like philosopher Edward Feser, co-author of By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed, who argues that declaring the death penalty wrong “undermines the credibility” of past Church doctrine.
Feser and others claim the Church “cannot repudiate [capital punishment] without repudiating her own identity” — a dramatic charge that pits them against the Magisterium.
Likewise, Fr. Brian Graebe (a prominent pro-life priest) has derided Pope Francis’s “inadmissible” stance as a “theological unicorn”, insinuating that Francis avoided calling executions inherently evil only because that would contradict historic Catholic teaching.
It is bitterly ironic to see self-proclaimed “pro-life” Catholics straining to justify state-sponsored killing. Their campaign to preserve capital punishment directly opposes the Gospel emphasis on mercy and human dignity.
Knowles and his allies may cite saints and scholars of the past, but in doing so, they reject the living authority of the Church today. Pope Leo and Pope Francis, following St. John Paul II, have led Catholic teaching to a consistent pro-life ethic that leaves no room for the death penalty — and no amount of selective quoting or sophistry can change that.
The Church has spoken: mercy and the inviolability of life must triumph over calls for death. Let’s pray Michael Knowles and company are listening.
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I expect that the late Pope Francis, and current church leaders, are a more reliable source of guidance on the church's teachings than Michael Knowles.
Follow Catholic Mobilizing Network and learn about the death penalty and human dignity. Read books by Sr Helen Prejean. She talked to Pope Francis and he changed the Church’s position on the death penalty after her visit. Jesus followed his Father’s will and was crucified for us. The death penalty is murder.