Pope Benedict Highlights Need for Broader View of Criminal Justice

- November 22, 2012 – Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to Participants in the XVII Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison Administration Your Excellency, Deputy Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am glad to be able to receive you on the occasion of your Conference and I would like, first of all,… MORE

Catholic Catechism Passages Relating to the Death Penalty

In 1997, due to a deepening theological awareness on the part of Catholic bishops and theologians, and, especially, because of a strong statement against the death penalty in his encyclical letter Evangelium vitae, Pope John Paul II ensured that the official teaching compendium of the church – the Catechism of the Catholic Church – would reflect this… MORE

Pope Speaks Out for End to Death Penalty

November 30, 2011 Today, “Pope Benedict XVI voiced support Wednesday for political actions around the world aimed at eliminating the death penalty, reflecting his stance as an opponent of capital punishment,” noted an Associated Press article – “Pope Seeks End to Death Penalty.” The article continues: “He made the comments during his weekly public audience to… MORE

The Vatican, the Holy Father and the Death Penalty

This page provides easy access to numerous statements by the late Pope John Paul II, Catholic teaching in the Catechism, and a compendium of Catholic Social Teaching on the death penalty.

Website

Bishops Welcome Repeal of Death Penalty in Connecticut

April 26, 2012 WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) congratulated the Connecticut bishops, the Connecticut Catholic Conference, Catholic Mobilizing Network and all dedicated advocates against the death penalty for their work to bring about the repeal of the death penalty in Connecticut. Governor Dan Malloy enacted the legislation April 25, making Connecticut… MORE

State Catholic Conference and Individual Bishops’ Statements

This is a catalog of statements issued by state Catholic Conferences and individual bishops on Catholic teaching and the death penalty between the years 1995 and 2005, inclusive. Provided by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.

View the statements.

USCCB Statement on Illinois Death Penalty Repeal

March 10, 2011

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) congratulated the Illinois bishops, the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty, and all advocates for their work to bring about the repeal of the death penalty in Illinois.

View the Statement

Bishops’ Committee Joins Call To End Life Sentences Without Parole For Children

- January 30, 2013 – WASHINGTON – A committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has endorsed the principles of a national campaign to end the practice of sentencing people under the age of 18 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development… MORE

Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Life Issues

From the Archdiocese of New Orleans (October 2010) In this video made for Respect Life Month, Archbishop Aymond reflects on issues of life including the distinction of human life above other life, abortion, euthenasia, and the death penalty.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory Speaks on the Death Penalty

In this video, Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory asks Catholics to reflect on their own views of capital punishment and to join in the Church’s call for its abandonment in the State of Georgia and beyond. This video is part of a comprehensive workshop offered by Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty on the death penalty… MORE

Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin Speaks on the Death Penalty

From the Texas Catholic Conference (2007) This video from the Texas Catholic Conference is a recording of Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin from 2007. He speaks of Jesus’ clarity on the call for compassion, justice and mercy rather than revenge. Bishop Aymond also articulates that people are called to become a voice for life.  Bishop… MORE

Bishop Jaime Soto Public Service Announcement in Support of Proposition 34

September 24, 2012 The ordinary bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento, Bishop Jaime Soto, in conjunction with a recent announcement by the entire California Catholic Conference of Bishops, has released a public service announcement in support of Proposition 34, the Savings Accountability Full Enforcement (SAFE) California ballot initiative, which, if approved by voters of California… MORE

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn on Church Teaching and the Death Penalty

November 2, 2011 If the Church must be consistent regarding the value of life from the very conception to a natural death, the use of the death penalty is something that the Church should be against in our own day and age. Unfortunately, human nature tends to seek revenge.  The Old Testament principle, an eye for… MORE

Bishop Oscar Cantu Encourages Death Penalty Abolitionists to Take Message to Public Square

Bishop Oscar Cantu, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, reiterated that opposition to the use of the death penalty recognizes the dignity in every human life during his closing remarks for the 2011 Religious Leaders Dialogue on the Death Penalty, held at Trinity University in San Antonio on October 24. He encourages death penalty opponents to take the… MORE

The Catholic Church and the Death Penalty

Presentation of the Most Reverend Wilton D. Gergory, Bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta An article in The Georgia Bulletin (October 16, 2008) The Catholic moral tradition shows an unambiguous preference to preserve life even when the order of justice is threatened and the safety of innocent life is at stake. While acknowledging the moral… MORE

Colorado Catholic Conference Statement on the Death Penalty

- January 2009 – As the Catholic bishops of Colorado, and consistent with Christian respect for the sanctity of human life, we oppose the use of capital punishment in our state. We believe that all people have a natural right to life, because every human being is made in the image and likeness of God,… MORE

The Common Good in Caritas in Veritate

By Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza

Pope Benedict does not address the death penalty in Caritas in Veritate, but we can glean from the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity that the common good would require true Christian humanism for abolition of capital punishment.

View the Statement

Crime and Punishment Revisited

By Most Reverend John Vlazny, Archbishop of Portland “A renewed effort on behalf of the abolition of the death penalty in this land would be yet another effort to encourage our people and fellow citizens to reject a culture of death and to build a culture of life. This very old and fundamental choice was… MORE

The Death Penalty Diminishes Our Society

Statement from the Most Reverend John C. Wester, Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City on the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardener While I was in California I associated closely with groups that advocated for justice for families of murder victims. I saw firsthand the terrible tragedy and the ongoing mourning that takes place from… MORE

Death Penalty Is Not Justice

By Most Reveverend Cirilo Flores, Coadjustor Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego April 25, 2012 (Para leer este artículo en español, clic aquí.) This year, in the Easter season, San Diego reels from two recent murders – a young Iraqi mother of five and a 14-year-old boy visiting friends with his brother. Our community comes together… MORE

Death Penalty: Perpetuating Violence in Society

By the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference March 30, 2012 Two hundred and five Pennsylvanians currently sit on death row. In Pennsylvania, even though hundreds of people have been sentenced to death, only three people – those who waived their right to appeal – have been executed since 1978 (the year the General Assembly reinstated the death penalty). … MORE

Divine Mercy and the Death Penalty

By the Most Reverend Robert W. Finn of the Archdiocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph As we seek a reason to put aside the practice of the death penalty, perhaps the best motive is our desire to imitate God in His Mercy toward those for whom Jesus died. Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for us and teach us to show… MORE

For A Justice That Restores and Redeems

By Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles – August 2012 – Earlier this month, I had the privilege to address an important symposium on crime and punishment in California, hosted by the California Catholic Conference at Loyola Marymount University. More than 500 people came together to consider new approaches based on the idea of “restorative… MORE

“Fire, Ready, Aim”: A Mixed-up Progression?

By Bishop David Zubik, Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA October 10, 2011 Death is never a solution. But too often we think that it accomplishes something. As a culture, our society opts for death to solve so-called social problems — whether it is the cost of caring for the sickly aged, the inconvenience of an unwanted… MORE

The Gospel of Life and Capital Punishment

Statement of the California Catholic Conference of Bishops July 1999 A critical hallmark of the Roman Catholic moral tradition is found in its insistence that the first right of the human person is the right to life. It does not belong to society, nor does it belong to public authority in any form, to recognize… MORE

“Inherently Flawed”

By Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, Texas While the Catholic Church has traditionally taught that the state has the right to use capital punishment under certain conditions, today it strongly urges that the state not exercise that right and advocates the use of other, more effective means to address serious crimes, namely life imprisonment without… MORE

Kansas Bishops Issue Statement Supporting Bill Abolishing Death Penalty

On March 5, 2011, the Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee approved SB 208 legislation abolishing the death penalty in Kansas. The four Kansas bishops submitted a joint statement as written testimony when the committee held a hearing on the bill. At press time, the bill had not yet been considered by the full Senate. The law… MORE

Let Justice and Mercy Meet: Crime, Punishment and the Common Good in Light of Sacred Scripture and Catholic Teaching

By the Bishops of Louisiana 2002 Justice involves right order. Restorative justice involves the return to right order, effected through the acceptance of responsibility, the assignment of appropriate punishment and the return or restoration of as many as possible to the human community. The appropriate punishment redresses the harm done to the victims, their families and the wider… MORE

Letter from Bishop Stika to Governor Bredesen

From the Office of the Bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville May 5, 2010 I share your deep concern for the proper functioning of our criminal justice system and the protection of society. However, I also believe that mercy must always be the very heart of our justice system. I do not have detailed information before me… MORE

SAFE California Rally: Bishop Richard Garcia

This video is a presentation of Bishop Richard Garcia of the Diocese of Monterey, California, at a rally to support the SAFE California Initiative to end the death penalty in that state. The event, in which CMN participated, was held during the 2012 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. He spoke about the unanimity of the… MORE

Statement from California Bishops upon Qualification of the SAFE California Initiative

By the California Catholic Conference April 27, 2012 In January, we the bishops of the California Catholic Conference issued a statement of support for the Savings, Accountability and Full Enforcement for California Act (SAFE California) Initiative, which would replace the penalty of death with one of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. We are… MORE

Statement from the Most Rev. Gerald Wilkerson, President of the California Catholic Conference

From the California Catholic Conference (September 28, 2010) As Catholic bishops, we teach and preach the Gospel vision of a “culture of life.” We believe that each human person is created in God’s image. We are compelled to teach a consistent ethic of life and to speak publicly that the use of the death penalty does not… MORE

Statement from Most Rev. Patrick J. McGrath, Diocese of San Jose, on California’s Proposition 34

September 17, 2012 I join my brother bishops in this state in supporting YES on Proposition 34, on the November 6 ballot. As Catholics, we hold human life sacred and believe that in the exercise of  justice, the sacredness of human life must prevail in the manner in which we treat each other, even those… MORE

Statement from the Roman Catholic Bishops of South Dakota Regarding Impending Executions and the Death Penalty

By The Most Reverend Robert D. Gruss, Bishop of Rapid City and The Most Reverend Paul J. Swain, Bishop of Sioux Falls – October 9, 2012 – “We as persons and as a State ought not to shrink to the level of the violent criminals by sanctioning state-inflicted violence. We are all gifted by God with life and… MORE

Statements on Maryland’s Death Penalty

By Maryland Bishops and the Maryland Catholic Conference The Catholic Church in Maryland has long sought an end to capital punishment in our state, and played a critical role in passing legislation to end the executions of juveniles (1987) and those with mental disabilities (1989). The Church applauds the state for its recent efforts to… MORE

Video: His Eminence Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston

From Religious Leaders Dialogue on the Death Penalty, Houston, Texas (2011) This video features Cardincal DiNardo speaking at a religious dialogue on the Death Penalty. He references the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” and its mention of the death penalty and the development of the Catholic Church’s position on the death penalty. The Cardinal also… MORE

Violence in Our Society: Death is not the Answer

By The Bishops of Louisiana (1994) In this culture in which death is so prevalent and is often a deliberate choice in a desperate attempt to solve a human problem, it is easy to understand the anger, fear and frustration which lead some to promote the death penalty as the best way to counteract violence and get tough… MORE

Violence on the Border, Immigration, and the Mission of the Church

By The Most Rev. Daniel E. Flores, S.T.D., Bishop of Brownsville Mexican American Catholic College, San Antonio, Texas October 19, 2011 No Catholic seeks to impose Catholic worship on anyone. But because The Lord said that WE (believers) must love our neighbor as ourselves, and that this commandment cannot be separated from the love and loyalty we owe… MORE

Washington State Catholic Conference Statement on the Death Penality

In May, 2009 the court heard arguments on whether the method of execution in Washington State is cruel and unusual.  With this issue again before the people of the State of Washington, the Catholic Bishops released a pastoral statement on the death penalty calling for a moratorium on executions in Washington State until the many… MORE

The Death Penalty: A Radical Shift in Catholic Thinking

By Bishop George Leo Thomas, Diocese of Helena, Montana February 2011 Cardinal Avery Dulles was a renaissance man. A Jesuit priest, scholar, humble disciple and man of the Church, he was a wellspring of wisdom, theological acumen, uncommon insight and personal holiness. When he rose to speak on the floor of the U.S. Conference of Catholic… MORE

Youth and the Death Penalty

By  Galveston-Houston Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza One of the encouraging signs in the Pro-Life movement is the large number of young people who are engaged in the battle to protect all human life from conception to natural death. Young people understand the biological truth that when the ovum is fused with the sperm a new life begins, a totally… MORE

The Death Penalty: No Justice, No Healing, No Closure

By the Indiana Catholic Conference This video, produced by the Indiana Catholic Conference, examines the death penalty from the perspective of chaplains who work with prisoners on death row. It shares some of the stories of people who are on death row, in their own words, as well. Finally, a parent of a person whose… MORE

Mercy and Justice – On Capital Punishment

By the Sanctity of Life Commission of the Diocese of Brooklyn This video by the Diocese of Brooklyn articulates the Catholic Church’s position on the death penalty. It features an excerpt of Blessed John Paul II speaking about the death penalty in which he encourages all to see the dignity of the human person even… MORE

Our Faith, Our Case Against the Death Penalty

With Bishop Curtis J. Guillory of Texas This video outlines several of the injustices that are inherent in the use of the death penalty. Bishop Curits J. Guillory explains the Catholic teaching about the death penalty. It also features David Atwood, the founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. The video also… MORE

Priests for Life Statement on the Death Penalty

Priests for Life has come to signify two distinct but related movements within the wider pro-life movement. On one level, Priests for Life refers to a very specific effort to galvanize the clergy to preach, teach and mobilize their people more effectively in the effort to end abortion and euthanasia. On another level, Priests for Life… MORE

Diocese of Reno Life, Peace, and Justice Commission

- 1999 – WHEREAS Catholic social teaching calls us to oppose capital punishment:  Pope John Paul II’s “Evangelium Vitae” calls for alternative means to defend and protect society, concluding that “as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases [meriting execution] are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.” The… MORE