USCCB renews call to end the death penalty
July 17, 2015
Two prelates who chair committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a message calling for a renewed push to end the death penalty.
The message comes a decade after the bishops’ conference issued a statement on the death penalty.
“Since that time, significant gains have been made,” said Cardinal Seán O’Malley and Archbishop Thomas Wenski. “Several states, including New York, New Jersey, New Mexico, Illinois, Connecticut, Maryland and most recently Nebraska, have ended the use of the death penalty, and other states have enacted moratoria. Death sentences are at their lowest level since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.”
“However, there is still a great deal of work to be done, and we must recommit ourselves to end this practice in our country,” the prelates added, as they called for prayer, outreach to crime victims’ families, study of the Church’s teaching, and political advocacy.
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Posted by: unum -
Jul. 18, 2015 9:35 AM ET USA
Archbishop Wenski's statement fails to mention the work and results of the laity in numerous state "Catholic Conferences" that lobby (educate) legislators and voters on the failings of the death penalty. The death penalty is not only immoral, it is expensive and a waste of public funding compared to other alternatives, such as life imprisonment without parole. Lay Catholic Conferences are vital to this effort.
