Leading Faith-Based Group Working to End U.S. Death Penalty Draws Catholic Leaders, Death Row Exoneree and Visionaries to Reimagine Justice During Respect Life Month

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Contact: Christine Moore at 469-688-5683, christine@catholicsmobilizing.org

Leading Faith-Based Group Working to End U.S. Death Penalty Draws Catholic Leaders, Death Row Exoneree and Visionaries to Reimagine Justice During Respect Life Month

Pope Sends Thanks for Good Realized by Catholic Mobilizing Network Advocacy for Repeal of Death Penalty, Promotion of Restorative Justice in the United States

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2024 — Catholic Mobilizing Network, the leading faith-based group working nationally to abolish capital punishment in the United States, drew hundreds of dedicated advocates and inspirational visionaries to the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See for the third Justice Reimagined Awards and Celebration on Thursday, the World Day Against the Death Penalty and the second week of Respect Life Month in the United States, during which Catholics are called to reflect on how to build a culture that protects life.

His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, said these words during his opening remarks and prayer: “On behalf of the Holy Father, I am grateful to the Catholic Mobilizing Network for responding to this call through your faithful field education, advocacy and prayer. In particular, I want to thank you for doing this work in a totally ecclesial way in union with the pope and bishops under the leadership of gifted lay women and men, and in collaboration with people across the world ethnic and political spectrum of the church today and society.” He commended CMN for work “which is not seeking merely to score a political victory but is seeking to build just relationships, promote accountability and help the transformation of society.”

His Holiness Pope Francis sent greetings and good wishes to the event participants that Cardinal Pierre read: “He joins you in giving thanks for the good realized through the Network’s advocacy for the repeal of the death penalty and promotion of restorative justice in the United States of America. He hopes that your efforts will continue to encourage all in the nation to recognize the inadequacy of capital punishment from moral as well as penal justice perspectives, and to support opportunities for reform and conversion for those convicted of crimes. He is confident that in this way, the innate and fundamental dignity of all human beings will be recognized and respected. To all gathered for this event, the Holy Father invokes an abundance of Almighty God’s blessings.”

The pontiff posted on X Thursday that “The #DeathPenalty is always inadmissible, because it attacks the inviolability and dignity of the person I appeal for its abolition in all countries of the world. We must not forget that a person can repent and change, even up until the very last moment of their life.”

Most. Rev. Borys Gudziak, the Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the chairman of the Committee for Domestic Justice and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), also addressed the gathering: “The bishops of the United States have been calling for an end to the death penalty for several decades, both at the federal and state level. To oppose the death penalty is not being soft on crime, it is rather being strong on the dignity of life…The Catholic Mobilizing Network has been critical to these efforts in the U.S. over these past 15 years. We want to say to you, thank you. Thank you for the work you have done. Thank you for the work you will continue to do. Your work is a great source of hope in building a culture of life. May God bless you in this holy endeavor. May we redouble our efforts in the next 15 years. I look forward to continuing on this journey with you, calling for an end to the death penalty and striving to uphold the dignity of every human being.”

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, CMN executive director, encouraged those gathered to help engage the next generation of Catholics because they have a pivotal role in advancing death penalty abolition and mainstreaming resorative justice approaches. “We ask for your help in building up storytellers and messengers who’ve been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, because it’s their courageous voices that change hearts and minds,” said Vaillancourt Murphy.

Katie Painter, first-place winner of CMN’s 2024 Justice and Mercy Poetry Contest, spoke about her inspiration and recited her winning entry “Christ to the Condemned,” which received an enthusiastic response. CMN presented the “Reimagining Justice Award” to Witness to Innocence (WTI), an organization of, by, and for death row exonerees. Herman Lindsey, WTI executive director, received the award on behalf of the organization. The “Archbishop Fiorenza Dignity & Life Award” went to Dale Recinella, a longtime death row chaplain in Florida, known as Brother Dale.

Catholic Mobilizing Network is a lay-led organization and the only national, faith-based group working full-time for an end to capital punishment in the United States. Catholic advocacy has catalyzed enormous progress in the abolition movement in recent years. Since CMN was founded in 2009, nine new states have abolished the death penalty. Today, 29 states have now either formally outlawed capital punishment or paused executions by executive action. An even deeper look reveals that 36 out of the 50 U.S. states have either abolished the death penalty or not carried out an execution for at least 10 years.

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Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Catholic Mobilizing Network is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and people of goodwill to end the death penalty, advance justice solutions in alignment with Catholic values and promote healing through restorative justice approaches and practices. For more information and to join the movement, visit catholicsmobilizing.org.

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For more information about CMN, visit catholicsmobilizing.org.
For advocacy actions underway, visit catholicsmobilizing.org/our-work/death-penalty/executions/.