Young Adult Catholics Win Poetry Contest Focused on Injustice of the Death Penalty
For Immediate Release: April 29, 2025
Contact: Moira Greaney at (e) moira@catholicsmobilizing.org (p) 301-456-4733
Website: catholicsmobilizing.org X: @CMNEndtheDP
(Washington, D.C.) Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) is eager to announce the winners of the 2025 Justice & Mercy Poetry Contest for Young Adults, an annual contest inviting young Catholic poets to reflect on the injustice of capital punishment. Victoria Uhase (age 24), who serves as the Program Assistant for the Office of Marriage and Family Ministry and the Office of Youth Ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, won first place for her poem, “The Scythe.” Uhase, along with second-place, third-place, and honorable mention finishers Grace Loonan (age 19), Rebekah Kevic (age 26), and Bryce Taylor (age 36), were chosen from dozens of submissions from Catholic poets ages 18-39 from across the United States.
“CMN launched the Justice and Mercy Poetry Contest in 2022 as a recognition of young adult’s indispensable role in the work of death penalty abolition. It’s our way of saying, ‘Your voices matter,’” said CMN executive director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy.
“Poetry, especially exceptional poems like we see here, has a way of transcending entrenched divisions and polarization. Poetry can unify because it speaks the language of the heart — igniting imagination and inspiring people to action. Each of these compelling poems holds that very potential to do the same. We are grateful to these gifted young Catholics for making the connection between their faith and real people who are suffering in the world. Each of these incredible young people shared their perspectives on the injustice of the death penalty and, in their own words, what justice and mercy mean to them.
Especially in this special Year of Jubilee 2025, we pray that these poems will be ‘tangible signs of hope’ that Pope Francis called for.”
The 2025 contest winners were chosen by a diverse and discerning panel of judges including the sister of a death row exoneree, a lawyer, a poet who was formerly incarcerated, and two previous winners of CMN’s Justice & Mercy Poetry Contest.
“Young people are protagonists in the Church and the death penalty abolition movement,” said Vaillancourt Murphy. “They consistently oppose capital punishment at higher rates than their older counterparts. They understand that the death penalty perpetuates racism, targets vulnerable populations, and risks innocent lives. For all these reasons, we have little doubt that young people will ultimately be the driving force behind ending capital punishment in the U.S.”