In the Catholic Church in the United States, pastoral statements are offered by individual bishops in particular dioceses, state Catholic conferences of bishops, regional synods of bishops, or the national conference (USCCB) when seeking to apply universal church teaching to particular circumstances or issues. In the case of the death penalty, U.S. bishops have often been strong anti-death penalty advocates for persons sentenced to be executed. The list below includes more recent pastoral and state conference statements relating to Catholic teaching on the death penalty and its application to particular laws and state-sponsored executions.
In 2015, the Bishop of Utah came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was a bill being debated in the legislature which sought to reinstate the firing squad as a death penalty option. A portion of the statement is read as follows:
In 2015, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf granted a reprieve to an inmate whose sentence was soon to be carried out with death. Shortly after this reprieve was granted, Gov. Wolf imposed a moratorium in Pennsylvania, effectively stopping all executions in Pennsylvania until he is out of office. The statement, is in short the following:
The Bishops of West Virginia came out with a strong statement on many legislative life issues today, including the expansion of the death penalty. Here is a portion of their statement:
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, Diocese of Phoenix, was asked by The Arizona Republic in 2014: “What if Arizona repealed the death penalty?” His response to the question, below, was published in The Arizona Republic.
The Bishops of Washington issued a letter to WA Governor Jay Inslee at the time he announced a moratorium on all death sentences in 2015. A portion of the letter is read as follows:
In 2014, the Bishops of South Dakota came out with a statement calling for an end to the death penalty in the state and for support to promote the dignity and sanctity of all life. At the time, there was a bill being debated in the legislature which sought to repeal the capital punishment. A portion of the statement is read as follows:
At a press conference held in late 2013, New Hampshire Bishop Libasci, Diocese of Manchester, announced campaign to end the death penalty in New Hampshire. A part of his statements are found here:
The Florida Bishops in 2013 co-wrote a strongly worded letter to the Governor pleading with him to both commute an imminent death sentence and to also end the use of the death penalty in Florida. A portion of their letter says:
"We urge Governor Scott to commute the death sentence of Marshall Gore to life in prison without possibility of parole.
In 2013, Archbishop Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky spoke with fellow advocates of abolishing the death penalty. In short, his comments to the crowd were:
After Connecticut's repeal of the death penalty in 2012, the Catholic New Service published an article about the Connecticut Bishops' strong support of the repeal. Here is a portion of the article:
“Todos los cristianos y hombres de buena voluntad están llamadas hoy a trabajar no sólo por la abolición de la pena de muerte, sino también para mejorar las condiciones de las cárceles, en el respeto de la dignidad humana de las personas privadas de libertad.” - Papa Francisco
