Arizona bishops issue statement against the death penalty
March 30, 2011
The bishops of Arizona have issued a strongly worded statement against the death penalty.
“We firmly hold that capital punishment is state-sanctioned vengeance that is not in keeping with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the bishops said in their March 28 statement. “We hold that capital punishment – when other means are available to keep society safe from dangerous criminals – denies the intrinsic dignity and sanctity of human life.”
“The use of the death penalty – when other means are available to keep society safe – is actually a contribution to a “culture of death,” they added. “It is an act of eye-for-an-eye vengeance that contradicts the values of our nation and that denies the dignity and sanctity of human life.”
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Posted by: Bernadette -
Apr. 01, 2011 4:29 PM ET USA
The death penalty is still allowed according to the CCC.
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Posted by: -
Mar. 30, 2011 9:57 AM ET USA
I invite the bishops of Arizona to temporarily work in a maximum security prision and handle the most dangerous of criminals. Guards and other prisioners are part of society too.
