“The Price of Death”
“It is time for the nation to conclude once and for all that in our civilized society there is no place for capital punishment.” Thus ends a recent editorial in the national Catholic weekly America. Marshaling a variety of reasons – botched executions; racial disparities; the possibility of executing someone who is actually innocent; the financial costs, especially as states struggle to meet other needs – the editorial makes a compelling case. Included in its argument are actions and statements from the Pope and the US Conference of Bishops.
Vatican Terms Death Penalty “An Affront To Human Dignity”
Its use contradicts Gospel teachings on forgiveness, new statement says.
In a message sent to participants in the Third World Congress Against the Death Penalty, held February 1-3 in Paris, the Vatican has reiterated its long-stated opposition to capital punishment, this time calling it “not just a negation of the right to life, but also an affront to human dignity.” The statement added that the use of the death penalty “also shows contempt for the Gospel teaching of forgiveness.”
Citing appeals made by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI for clemency for people condemned to die, the Holy See assured participants in the congress that it supported international campaigns to abolish the death penalty worldwide or to impose a universal moratorium on its use.
Read more about the Vatican and the Third World Congress by clicking here.
Superiors General release letter opposing the death penalty
Fr. David Fleming, together with the superiors of many other religious orders in the U.S., has signed a letter protesting the use of the death penalty. They "...demand that governments all over the world abolish the death penalty: it does not protect society and it corrupts. There is no reasonable cause to take a human being's life. Everyone has the right to live and to hope." A copy of the letter is available by clicking here.
Bishops release "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death"
At their annual meeting in November, the U.S. bishops released their first major statement on the death penalty in 25 years, calling on Catholics to take up the cause of ending the use of capital punishment. The bishops have been on record opposing use of the death penalty for 25 years, but the new statement, "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death," says the bishops seek "to seize a new moment and new momentum" in their campaign against capital punishment.
The document can be downloaded by clicking here . Its length -- 11 pages -- makes it ideal for a study or prayer group to consider or for reading and discussing in a high school class. Some excerpts:
We encourage reflection and call for common action in the Catholic community and among all men and women of good will to end the use of the death penalty in our land. Ending the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death toward building a culture of life.
Our nation should forego the use of the death penalty because
• The sanction of death violates respect for human life and dignity.
• State-sanctioned killing in our names diminishes all of us.
• Its application is deeply flawed and can be irreversibly wrong, is prone to errors, and is biased by factors such as race, the quality of legal representation, and where the crime was committed.
• We have other ways to punish criminals and protect society. The sanction of death when it is not necessary to protect society undermines respect for human life and dignity.
This initiative is not about ideology, but life and death. In his encyclical The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II told us that we have an “inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.” This Catholic campaign brings us together for common action to end the use of the death penalty, to reject a culture of death, and to build a culture of life. It poses an old and fundamental choice:
“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.” (Dt 30:19)
Pope Benedict XVI and the Death Penalty
Pope Benedict XVI played a lead role in developing the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” a book which, when published in 1992, reflected a dramatic shift away from the Church’s acceptance of the death penalty during most of its 2,000-year history. A document prepared by Catholics Against Capital Punishment is available under Death Penalty files by clicking here .
Catholic Bishops Launch A Major New “Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty”
The U.S. Catholic Bishops have launched the "Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty." As Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington and member of the bishops' Commttee on Domestic Policy, declared,
“We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. We cannot defend life by taking life. The Catholic campaign will work to change the debate and decisions on the use of the death penalty: building a constituency for life, not death; calling on our lawmakers to lead, not follow; to defend life, not take it away. . . . This cause is not new. Our bishops’ conference has opposed the death penalty for 25 years. But this campaign is new. It brings greater urgency and unity, increased energy and advocacy, and a renewed call to our people and to our leaders to end the use of the death penalty in our nation.”
The information base for the Campaign is at http://www.ccedp.org .
The Campaign includes new teaching and educational resources, continuing legal action, ongoing legislative advocacy at state and federal levels, and links to the Church’s pro-life and “faithful citizenship” efforts. The brochure is available by clicking here and to read some polling data click here .
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