Educate

  • EWTN News In Depth: Catholics Urge Federal Death Penalty Abolition

    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

    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…

  • 5 Myths About Forgiveness: A Catholic Perspective

    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…

  • [One-Pager] The Federal Death Penalty: What All Catholics Need to Know

    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…

  • [Podcast] Encounters With Dignity: A Podcast on Restorative Justice

    Encounters With Dignity, a Podcast on Restorative Justice from Catholic Mobilizing Network, brings you stories, learnings, and actionable wisdom from people putting restorative justice into practice in their everyday lives. Each episode explores the synergies between Gospel values, Catholic Social Teaching, and restorative justice, preparing listeners to bring this reconciling approach to their communities, churches,…

  • Dos and Don’ts For Accompanying Victim-Survivors Through a Restorative Justice Process

    In the aftermath of a crime, a victim-survivor’s faith community is often one of the first places they turn to for support. Yet many of our parishes and ministries struggle with how to respond to victims’ complex needs for healing. As people of faith, we can be instrumental in supporting victim-survivors through restorative processes designed…

  • Find a Circle Trainer

    Circle process is a foundational restorative practice that creates the conditions to build, strengthen and repair relationships through storytelling. In ministry settings, this methodology is well suited for synodal listening, communal discernment, and attending to the wounds of trauma, harm, and conflict. Many Catholics, after learning about the principles and practices of restorative justice, wish…

  • Tips for Preaching About the Death Penalty

    This resource is designed for bishops, priests, and deacons who wish to connect the Church’s teaching against the death penalty to Scripture in a homily. In this resource you will find:

  • [Webinar] The U.S. Death Penalty in 2024: A State of the Union

    What is the status of the death penalty throughout the U.S. as we enter into 2024? Experts respond to this questions in a one-hour webinar presenting the 2024 landscape of the death penalty throughout the nation, to increase awareness of what lies ahead in the year. Featured Speakers Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, Archbishop of…

  • CMN Book List on the Death Penalty & Restorative Justice

    Download CMN’s Book List for a collection of titles that dive into issues of capital punishment and restorative justice. Featuring titles like The Death of Innocents by Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and Harm, Healing, and Human Dignity: A Catholic Encounter with Restorative Justice, CMN’s faith formation guide. Use this list as a solo…

  • [Webinar] Growing in Restorative Practices: One Year Into the Synod on Synodality

    In January 2022, Catholic Mobilizing Network’s webinar “Five Lessons From Restorative Practices for the Synod on Synodality explored how practices from restorative justice could enrich the synod listening processes taking place in Catholic parishes and dioceses nationwide. In this webinar, Fr. David McCallum, SJ and Dr. Vanessa White illuminate the joys, hopes, sufferings and wounds…

  • [Webinar] Conversations of Hope: Ending the Death Penalty, with Sr. Helen Prejean

    For 2022 Respect Life Month, Catholic Mobilizing Network hosted a one-hour webinar featuring Sr. Helen Prejean, Ohio death row exoneree Kwame Ajamu, and Director of Prison Ministry for the Nashville Diocese Deacon James Booth. The panelists shared their perspective on the death penalty and discussed how capital punishment denies the gospel call to uphold and…