Pope Francis on Thursday officially changed the Catholic Church’s teaching on the death penalty, declaring that from now on it will no longer be viewed as permissible.

The Vatican has allowed the death penalty – albeit in extreme circumstances – for centuries and it was employed by the Papal States, the large swathes of Italian territory ruled by the popes until 1870.

But under the new decree, Rome now regards the death penalty as “inadmissible, because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.”

"Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good," the Vatican said.

"Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes."

Prior to the change, the Church was not opposed to capital punishment "if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor."

The change was enacted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department responsible for defending Catholic teaching, and is contained in the universal catechism, a summary of the Church’s teaching on sexual, social and moral issues.