![[One-Pager] Standing for Life: Our Catholic Faith and the Death Penalty](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Standing_for_Life_Graphic-768x575.png)
The Catholic Church has long supported alternatives to the death penalty. Each of the last three popes spoke out publicly against capital punishment, acknowledging the ways it violates the inherent dignity of the human person. Download the handout below to learn more about the church’s history of opposition to the death penalty and ways we can…
![[One-Pager] Racism and the Criminal Justice System (USCCB)](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/emiliano-bar-1266993-unsplash.jpg)
In November 2018, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released its long anticipated pastoral letter against racism: Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love. In conjunction, the USCCB also released a 2-page letter highlighting the racial disparities systemically upheld within our country’s criminal justice system: Racism and the Criminal Justice System….
About Just Mercy Based on Bryan Stevenson’s bestselling book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, the film Just Mercy presents the stunning true story of Walter McMillian, a black man convicted and sentenced to death in Alabama in 1988 for a crime he did not commit. The movie follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson in…
![Catholic Social Teaching and Restorative Justice [printable]](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/rj__cst_resource_graphic_2-768x768.png)
This PDF resource presents restorative justice through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching principles. It illuminates ways that restorative practices can transform individual relationships, communities, and systems in the spirit of healing and reconciliation. When crime happens, the U.S. legal system asks three questions: What law was broken? Who is guilty? How should they be…
![[One-Pager] What is Restorative Justice?](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/What_is_RJ_Graphic-768x575.png)
This two-page handout gives an introductory overview of restorative justice and ways that practices can be applied in various settings. Download and print copies of this resource to complement an educational program or spread the word about restorative justice in your parish and community. Click here to read more about restorative justice.
The United States is an international outlier when it comes to maintaining the death penalty; more than 70% of the world’s countries have abolished capital punishment in law or practice. (Source: Death Penalty Information Center) But despite its poor record, the U.S. has seen intensifying momentum toward national death penalty abolition in recent years. From…
This collection of resources and activities equips K-12 school and college/university educators to introduce their students to restorative justice as it aligns with Catholic Social Teaching. FOR WHOM: Catholic educators in search of ways to incorporate the topic of restorative justice into K-12 school and college/university curricula. Best suited for classes on theology or social…
EWTN’s Kate Scanlon speaks with Syl and Vicki Schieber, who suffered the violent murder of their daughter, Shannon, yet hold true to the teachings of the church and reject the death penalty. She also interviews CMN Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic…
![[One-Pager] Racism and the Death Penalty: Compounding Systems of Dehumanization](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Race_and_the_Death_Penalty_Graphic-768x575.png)
Catholic Mobilizing Network’s advocacy toward ending the death penalty reveals the institutionalized racism and discrimination rampant in the U.S. criminal legal system, which has resulted in the overincarceration of Black and Brown people — particularly on death row. Misuse and abuse of power perpetuate racial injustice and deny human beings of their God-given dignity. As…
As Catholics, we understand that there is a Gospel call toward forgiveness — yet forgiveness is never an obligation, but a creative act of possibility and grace. This is especially important on a restorative justice journey. Together, we can work to dispel common myths about forgiveness and open up new possibilities for reconciliation and healing. Myth #1: Forgiveness…
Catholic educators are often in search of ways to incorporate the issue of capital punishment into high school and college/university curricula. This collection of resources and activities serve as a general introduction to the issue of the death penalty as it aligns with Catholic Social Tradition. FOR WHOM: Intended for educator use in Catholic grade…
![[One-Pager] The Federal Death Penalty: What All Catholics Need to Know](https://catholicsmobilizing.org/wp-content/uploads/Fed-DP-Onepager-coming-soon-768x994.png)
The Federal Death Penalty: What All Catholics Need to Know President Biden is the first president to oppose capital punishment publicly. He campaigned on an anti-death penalty platform, and on Jul. 1, 2021, Biden’s Department of Justice ordered an official moratorium on federal executions. Though an encouraging step, it does not prevent future administrations from…
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