Christian Pipe Smokers

Pope: Death Penalty brings no justice, but is "poison" for society

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Says Pope in preface to new book, A Christian on Death Row.

ANSA English Desk — The death penalty is "in no way a solution to the violence that can strike innocent people", Pope Francis wrote in the preface released Sunday to A Christian on Death Row: My Commitment to Those Condemned, a new book by Dale Recinella, set for publication by the Vatican Publishing House (LEV) on Tuesday, August 27.

"Capital executions, far from bringing justice, fuel a sense of revenge that becomes a dangerous poison for the body of our civil societies", the pontiff wrote in the preface.

"States should focus on allowing prisoners the opportunity to truly change their lives, rather than investing money and resources in their execution, as if they were human beings no longer worthy of living and to be disposed of", said the pope.

In the book out next Tuesday, Recinella, 72, formerly a successful lawyer on Wall Street, talks about his work since 1998 as a lay chaplain aiding inmates on death row in Florida, an experience he has shared with wife Susan.

"Jesus is capable of revolutionizing our plans, our aspirations, and our perspectives", the pontiff also wrote in the preface.

"The story of Dale Recinella, whom I met during an audience, and have come to know better through the articles he has written over the years for L'Osservatore Romano and now through this deeply moving book, confirms what I have said: only in this way can we understand how a man, who had other goals in mind for his future, became the chaplain — as a lay Christian, husband, and father — to those condemned to death.

"His is an extremely difficult, risky, and arduous task, because it touches evil in all its dimensions: the evil committed against the victims, which cannot be undone; the evil the condemned person is living through, knowing they are destined for certain death; the evil that, through the practice of the death penalty, is instilled in society."

According to the pontiff, "the Jubilee should commit all believers to collectively call for the abolition of the death penalty, a practice that, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, 'is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person!' (CCC 2267)."

In order to support such a thesis, Pope Francis quotes The Idiot in which Fyodor Dostoevsky "succinctly encapsulates the logical and moral unsustainability of the death penalty, speaking of a man condemned to death: "It is a violation of the human soul, nothing more! It is written: 'Thou shalt not kill,' and yet, because he has killed, others kill him.

"No, it is something that should not exist."

[…]

The pope concluded offering "a sincere and heartfelt thank you to Dale Racinella: because his work as a chaplain on death row is a tenacious and passionate adherence to the deepest reality of the Gospel of Jesus".

Wosbald wrote: 18 Aug 2024, 14:56 +JMJ+

Source: ANSA English
Link: ansabrasil DOT com DOT br/english/news/vatican/2024/08/18/death-penalty-brings-no-justice-poison-for-society-pope_7b00ee10-5501-4612-a180-d2cef05b6fc7.html

Pope: Death Penalty brings no justice, but is "poison" for society

Catholic activists mobilize as Democrats ignore abolition of death penalty

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Sept 9, 2024 — The Democrats' once-strong stance on the need to end capital punishment in the U.S. weakened considerably when the party's 2024 platform, approved by delegates at their convention in Chicago, omitted any mention of the death penalty for the first time since 2004.

In 2016, the Democratic Party formally advocated for abolishing the federal death penalty, describing it as "cruel and unusual," costly, and ineffective at deterring crime. By 2020, the party had reaffirmed this position, and Joe Biden, upon assuming the presidency in 2021, made history as the first president to publicly oppose capital punishment, a sharp departure from his past stance as a senator.

Republicans, particularly Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, have taken a hardline stance in favor of capital punishment. If re-elected, Trump has said he plans to resume executions, a continuation of the spree that marked the end of his first term. His campaign's proposals include a controversial expansion of the death penalty, signaling a stark contrast to the Biden administration's more restrained approach.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organization that works to raise awareness among Catholics against the death penalty and advocates for an end to capital punishment, told NCR that it's "incredibly disappointing" that the 2024 Democratic platform did not include the abolition of the death penalty.

"I was in this position for seven years, so I was here under the Trump administration and their federal execution spree, where in the span of six months they killed 13 people. We worked on every single one of those cases. When the Biden administration came in, their platform talked about ending the death penalty, which was so encouraging. The Biden administration won the election, and amongst the first things they do is they impose a moratorium. One can imagine how exhilarating that was," she said.

The group thought "there was a possibility to do more. We have now a candidate — Trump — with a very clear history and approach to federal executions and talk of expansion for drug traffickers and human traffickers. And then we have this Democratic convention and their platform. We were thinking, 'Well maybe there's a possibility that we have some promise to advance justice in a different kind of way.' And yet, nothing," she said, referring to the platform's silence on the issue.

Deacon Denny Davis, a leading voice against capital punishment in South Dakota, told NCR he was "not happy at all" about the lack of commitment to ending the death penalty in the 2024 Democratic Party platform. As the director of South Dakotans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and a deacon at St. Agnes Parish in Vermillion, Davis has spent 12 years working to abolish the death penalty in his state.

His work involves lobbying the state legislature, where efforts to repeal the death penalty or exempt the severely mentally ill from it have consistently failed. Despite these setbacks, Davis remains committed to introducing bills each year, hoping to keep the issue alive in a state dominated by Republican lawmakers.

Davis said the lack of vocal support from the Catholic Church in his diocese has been particularly noticeable, and that while many Catholics recognize Pope Francis' stance against the death penalty, there is little active advocacy from the clergy. In his view, abortion is seen as a safer issue for Catholics to oppose, as it doesn't invite the same level of controversy or pushback as opposing the death penalty does.

"Whenever we bring a bill, the diocese does have a lobbyist," Davis said. "They would send a letter to the legislature so that all the people on the committee can read the letter. But beyond that, what I'm talking about is, do we talk about the death penalty as much as we do abortion? "I'm just saying the help is not enough. It has to come much stronger, and if the clergy is not speaking out, the people are not going to."

[…]

Catholics who are vocal in their opposition to the death penalty often gather for prayer vigils outside state prisons, praying for the inmate who will be put to death.

That's what happened Aug. 29, when Loran Cole was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison for the 1994 murder of a college student. About 50 Catholics from the Diocese of Orlando gathered outside the prison to pray and to speak out against the execution.

Anne Richter, a Catholic 83-year-old retired nurse midwife and council member of Pax Christi Florida, took part in another demonstration outside the courthouse in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the same time, even amid thunder, lightning and heavy rain.

"I think that what's happening on the national level is reflective, in general, on what the church is doing with social justice issues," she told NCR. While Pax Christi remains active in organizing protests and raising awareness, she said, support from Catholic communities has dwindled.

Richter said even peace activists have shifted their concern, with a renewed emphasis right now on the situation in Gaza. She acknowledged that while the death penalty remains a critical issue, it often fades into the background until an execution is imminent. Her group, however, continues its work, particularly in light of recent legislative changes that now allow executions in Florida with a non-unanimous jury, a policy change she called "a disgrace."

She said Pope Francis spoke "beautifully" in his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti on the death penalty, but she pointed out that she has "never heard that being announced at our altar."

"We have a lot of Trump people at our church," she said. "They need to hear that off the altar."

Wosbald wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 09:43 +JMJ+
Source: National Catholic Reporter

Catholic activists mobilize as Democrats ignore abolition of death penalty

Sept 9, 2024 — The Democrats' once-strong stance on the need to end capital punishment in the U.S. weakened considerably when the party's 2024 platform, approved by delegates at their convention in Chicago, omitted any mention of the death penalty for the first time since 2004.

"We have a lot of Trump people at our church," she said. "They need to hear that off the altar."

Del wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 12:04

Wosbald wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 09:43 Source: National Catholic Reporter
Link: ncronline DOT org/catholic-activists-mobilize-democrats-ignore-abolition-death-penalty

Catholic activists mobilize as Democrats ignore abolition of death penalty

Sept 9, 2024 — The Democrats' once-strong stance on the need to end capital punishment in the U.S. weakened considerably when the party's 2024 platform, approved by delegates at their convention in Chicago, omitted any mention of the death penalty for the first time since 2004.

This is not difficult to understand or explain....

Democrats are afraid that any mention of respect for the lives of convicted murderers might undermine their primary enthusiasm for the killing of innocent children.

[…]

Wosbald wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 13:20 +JMJ+

Del wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 12:04

Wosbald wrote: 10 Sep 2024, 09:43 Source: National Catholic Reporter
Link: ncronline DOT org/catholic-activists-mobilize-democrats-ignore-abolition-death-penalty

This is not difficult to understand or explain....

Democrats are afraid that any mention of respect for the lives of convicted murderers might undermine their primary enthusiasm for the killing of innocent children.

[…]

That's possibly a secondary reason in some cases.

I think the primary reason is cuz Democrats are not necessarily any better than Republicans in wanting to hang onto idolatrous State power.

It's a Human thang. Not a Partisan thang.

Tossing the One Ring into the Fire is positively panic-inducing.

Catholic death penalty abolition group condemns 'regressive' spate of executions

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Washington, D.C — Catholic Mobilizing Network, a group that advocates for the abolition of capital punishment in line with Catholic teaching, urged its supporters to speak out against what it called a "regressive" trend of five executions in five states in the span of one week.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, CMN's executive director, said in a Sept. 23 statement her group is organizing its supporters to voice their opposition to the spate of executions.

"Simply stated, instead of offering real justice or authentic healing that victims and communities need and desire, executions endorse and perpetuate the cycle of violence," Vaillancourt Murphy said. "As Catholics, we believe in the dignity of all human life, no matter the harm one has caused or suffered."

Vaillancourt Murphy called the upcoming Respect Life Month, observed every October, "a timely opportunity to proclaim that each of us is made in God's image."

Her statement also noted that World Day Against the Death Penalty is Oct. 10.

"In the face of such death-dealing this week, we have a sacred responsibility and the moral agency to usher in the change we seek," she said, adding, "As people of faith and hope, we must shine our light ever brighter in this present darkness. Together, we not only can turn back this regressive tide but also generate such a groundswell that a tipping point comes to wipe out the unholy and unjust use of state-sponsored killing in America once and for all."

[…]

"The five scheduled executions in the month of September display the horrific injustice that runs rampant throughout this system of capital punishment," Vaillancourt Murphy said. "Several of the five individuals facing execution have histories of extreme trauma and abuse, or diagnoses of severe mental illness. One is a Black man who was sentenced by an all-white jury. Two men hold strong claims of innocence. And one of the men scheduled to be executed previously survived a failed execution attempt at the hands of the state."

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has pushed for expanding the use of the death penalty. In 2020, President Joe Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate, became the first U.S. president to have campaigned on an openly anti-death penalty platform. Although Harris has opposed the death penalty in her previous roles, now as the Democratic Party's nominee for president, her campaign has thus far not made clear whether she would work to end the practice as president.

"One can easily speculate that the uptick in executions as well as efforts to expand the use of capital punishment in certain states could be for reasons of political manipulation or signaling during an election season," Vaillancourt Murphy said. "Politicians are known to wield the death penalty as a political tool to appear 'tough on crime,' treating people on death row like political pawns. We are calling on Catholics across the country, and especially in these five states, to urge decision-makers to stop these executions."

"The death penalty is contrary to human dignity, immoral, flawed, arbitrary, and useless as a deterrent to crime," she added. "Mobilizing Catholics for advocacy has substantial potential to advance progress toward death penalty abolition. Catholics, comprising 22% of the U.S. population, hold significant influence, particularly in key death penalty states with large Catholic populations."

Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to clarify the church's teaching that capital punishment is morally "inadmissible" in the modern world and that the church works with determination for its abolishment worldwide.

Wosbald wrote: 28 Sep 2024, 09:58 +JMJ+

Source: National Catholic Reporter / OSV News

Catholic death penalty abolition group condemns 'regressive' spate of executions
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Vaillancourt Murphy called the upcoming Respect Life Month, observed every October, "a timely opportunity to proclaim that each of us is made in God's image."

Catholic opponents of the death penalty praised President Joe Biden's decision to commute the sentences of all but three of the 40 inmates on federal death row, a decision the White House said will stop President-elect Donald Trump from resuming stalled executions.

"Today's historic decision by President Biden advances the cause of human dignity and underscores the sacred value of every human life," said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network.

Since the election, Catholic voices, led by Pope Francis, have called on America's second Catholic president to issue the commutations. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, revised by Pope Francis in 2018, calls the death penalty "inadmissible" and "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."

[…]

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the president's action a "significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity and respect for human life from womb to tomb in our nation."

"My brother bishops and I unite in expressing our gratitude that President Biden has commuted the federal death sentences of 37 men," he said. "We encourage all lawmakers to continue to work towards the total abolition of the death penalty and to redirect the energy and resources that currently go towards executions to provide compassionate and professional assistance to the families of victims."

Wosbald wrote: 23 Dec 2024, 17:57 +JMJ+

Title: Catholics praise President Biden's mercy for death penalty inmates
Source: National Catholic Reporter
Link: ncronline DOT org/news/catholics-praise-president-bidens-mercy-death-penalty-inmates

The Money-Quotes:

Catholic opponents of the death penalty praised President Joe Biden's decision to commute the sentences of all but three of the 40 inmates on federal death row, a decision the White House said will stop President-elect Donald Trump from resuming stalled executions.

"Today's historic decision by President Biden advances the cause of human dignity and underscores the sacred value of every human life," said Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network.

Since the election, Catholic voices, led by Pope Francis, have called on America's second Catholic president to issue the commutations. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, revised by Pope Francis in 2018, calls the death penalty "inadmissible" and "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."

[…]

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called the president's action a "significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity and respect for human life from womb to tomb in our nation."

"My brother bishops and I unite in expressing our gratitude that President Biden has commuted the federal death sentences of 37 men," he said. "We encourage all lawmakers to continue to work towards the total abolition of the death penalty and to redirect the energy and resources that currently go towards executions to provide compassionate and professional assistance to the families of victims."

∗∗∗

Thanx, Joe!