Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami spoke out against the use of the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz, the convicted shooter in the Parkland school tragedy; Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and is currently awaiting his sentencing. 

While many families of victims wish that Cruz suffer the death penalty, Wenski claims that this will not bring them the closure that they require but will only make the incident more violent. 

"Standing with the families of murder victims does not compel us as a society to seek another death in return. Their pain cannot be wiped away and the loss of life of their loved ones cannot be restored by another death,” Wenski said, according to WPTV. 

Cruz is now 23 years old and pled guilty to his charges on Oct. 20. When the shooting took place in 2018, Cruz was only 19. He killed 14 students and three teachers at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., making it the deadliest school shooting to have occurred in the U.S, according to USA Today. 

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the death penalty is not to be used as a form of justice. Pope John Paul II claimed that it was “cruel and unnecessary.”