Resources

  • [Webinar] Ending the Federal Death Penalty: The Road Ahead

    When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the country stood in the wake of an unprecedented spree of 13 federal executions, ordered and administered by the Trump administration. Biden, a Catholic, is now the first U.S. president to openly oppose the death penalty, and his administration has declared the nation’s first official (though…

  • [Webinar] Five Lessons From Restorative Practices for the Synod on Synodality

    Restorative justice practices can create spaces for conversation where every voice is heard and valued. Such conversations are critical to the Synod on Synodality, a two-year process of listening and dialogue for the Catholic Church announced by Pope Francis in October 2021 and running until 2024. On Jan. 11, 2022, CMN hosted a webinar on…

  • [Webinar] How to Bring Restorative Justice to Your Parish or Ministry

    Watch CMN’s four-part webinar series exploring practical components of restorative justice approaches within Catholic ministry. Each session utilizes content and tools featured in CMN’s downloadable resource: Paths of Renewed Encounter: A Restorative Justice Engagement Guide for Catholic Communities. Click here to discover CMN’s new formation program: Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding….

  • A Prayer for the End of the Death Penalty

    By Molly Cahill, Assistant Editor, America Media. Originally published in America following Missouri’s execution of Ernest Johnson on Oct. 5, 2021. God who forgives,                                                                  …

  • [Webinar] “Killing in Our Name”: Federal Executions and Pro-Life Witness

    President Trump restarted the practice of federal executions following a 17-year hiatus on Jul. 14, 2020. His administration is on track to have executed 13 people by the end of the presidential term — more than any other administration in the 20th or 21st centuries. This unprecedented backslide into federal executions raises critical moral, human, and policy…

  • “Heaven-Haven” Prayer Card

    The poem, “Heaven-Haven,” was written in 1864 by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a Jesuit priest. On July 17, 2020 it was recited by Dustin Lee Honken in the moments before his execution at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dustin’s execution was the third in an unprecedented spree ordered by the federal government that year. “I have…

  • [Book] Dignity and the Death Penalty: Evolution of Catholic Teaching

    Dignity and the Death Penalty is a seven-session small group resource examining Catholic teaching on the death penalty, based on the insights of Catholic anti-death penalty visionary Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ.  Created in partnership between Catholic Mobilizing Network and Renew International, Dignity and the Death Penalty helps readers and small group participants reflect on the brokenness of the criminal legal system…

  • [Video] Testimony from Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann on the Death Penalty

    This 7-minute video reflection by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas was recorded on the occasion of the federal government’s execution of Keith Dwayne Nelson on August 28, 2020. In this moving testimony, Archbishop Naumann shares about his own experience as the son of a murder victim and affirms the Church’s resounding call…

  • [One-Pager] Restorative Approaches in a Time of Racial Reckoning

    Catholic Mobilizing Network’s advocacy toward ending the death penalty and advancing justice and healing reveals the institutionalized racism and discrimination rampant in the U.S. criminal legal system, which results in the over-incarceration of Black and Brown people. Misuse and abuse of power perpetuate racial injustice and deny human beings of their God-given dignity. As a…

  • [Webinar] The Movie Just Mercy: An Opportunity for Church Leaders to Address Racism

    Catholic Mobilizing Network’s Executive Director Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy is on a panel of ministry leaders conversing about the movie Just Mercy, and the ways in which it can inspire action among Catholics to address the sin of racism. Just Mercy is available for streaming on digital platforms. It tells the stunning true story of young…