In a letter issued prior to Easter, the Catholic Bishops in Missouri called for an end to executions in the U.S. and urged parishioners to “build a culture of life.” The letter noted that violence “is not a solution to society’s problems,” and it summarized church teachings regarding capital punishment and highlighted a campaign by U.S. Catholic Bishops to end the use of the death penalty. “(Christ) was unjustly sentenced to death and executed on a cross, the cruelest form of capital punishment at the time… . [R]ecent court interventions have focused attention on the inhumaneness of executions. As Catholics who believe in the sacredness of life, the use of state-authorized killing in our names diminishes us all,” the Bishops wrote. In the letter, the Bishops urged Catholics to contact their elected officials to advocate for a halt to executions.

(St. Louis Review, April 7, 2006). Read the Bishop’s Letter on the Death Penalty.

New Resource: In Florida, Catholic Lay Chaplain Dale Recinella, who serves as a spiritual advisor to those on death row, has initiated a new Web resource at http://www.iwasinprison.org. Dale and his wife, Susan, a clinical psychologist and Catholic lay minister to the families of the executed, use the site to post weekly articles about capital punishment and about their experiences ministering to those facing execution and their families. See the Web Site. See also New Voices.

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