Pope Francis on Thursday changed the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching to declare that the death penalty can never be sanctioned because it “attacks” the inherent dignity of all humans.

The Vatican said the pontiff changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church — the compilation of official Catholic teaching.

Previously, the catechism said the church didn’t exclude the use of capital punishment “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.”

The new teaching says that policy is outdated and that there are other ways to protect society — “consequently the church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.”

The new provision is expected to face stiff opposition from Catholics in countries such as the US, where many support the death penalty.

The 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church allowed capital punishment in extreme cases for centuries, but the position began to change under Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

With Post wires