Criminals are as much entitled to the "God-given right to life" as non-criminals, Pope Francis said yesterday.

The Pope, in a message to the Sixth World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Oslo, Norway, said the curent Jubilee Year of Mercy was an "auspicious occasion" for promoting worldwide more evolved forms of respect for life and for the dignity of each person.

"It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal," he said.

Pope Francis added that he drew hope from growing public opposition to the death penalty.

"The death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person," the Pope argued. "It is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person.

"It likewise contradicts God's plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice.

"Nor is it consonant with any just purpose of punishment. It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. The commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty."

He called on everyone to work towards the abolition of the death penalty and improved prison conditions.

"There is no fitting punishment without hope. Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment.

"I trust that this Congress can give new impulse to the effort to abolish capital punishment. For this reason, I encourage all taking part to carry on this great initiative and I assure them of my prayers."

The Pope has spoken many times in recent months on this issue.

Last September he told the US Congress that he wanted the "global abolition" of the death penalty. He said then: "Every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes."

More than 1,400 prisoners have been executed in the United States since 1976 although there has been a fall in numbers in recent years. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the death penalty can be used "if this is the only possible way" of defending a life or lives. It also says criminals cannot be denied the possibility of redemption. It says: "The cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."