RC Bishops: Abolish death penalty

In a release yesterday from the Catholic Commission for Social Justice it was reported that the statement was issued on September 21, 2016 and tomorrow (October 10) the world will observe World Day Against The Death Penalty.

The Bishops in their statement reaffirmed that “the prophetic voice of the Church must be heard especially in times of moral and social crisis. Thus, while we are appalled by the rise of violent crime in our region and express solidarity with the victims of crime and all those affected by crime, we urge politicians and citizens in our region to abolish capital punishment, that is, the death penalty and embrace a restorative justice approach to crime and violence.” “The key watchwords of a restorative justice approach lie at the heart of Christian living, for example, repentance, conversion, reparation, restoration, restitution, reconciliation, rehabilitation, forgiveness, empowerment, and re-integration with a sense of responsibility – as opposed to revenge, retribution, and vengeance.” The Bishops pointed out that all recent international studies and research show that capital punishment does not act as a deterrent, nor does it foster respect for life in our communities.

“Hence, regardless of the potential unpopularity of our gospel message that informs our position, we reaffirm the position: capital punishment symbolizes a form of despair for the effective reform of persons. Let us pray and work for the renewal of hearts and minds and find more sustainable and effective solutions aimed at reducing crime and violence in our region and in the world.” “We urge our governments to strengthen the capacity of public institutions, including criminal justice systems, to address crime and violence; to address the risk factors that contribute to crime, for example: poverty, urban decay, social inequality and exclusion, family disintegration, poor parenting, lack of quality education and employment, poor housing, the proliferation of guns, drugs and gangs in the region, and to employ related preventive measures.

We stand ready and urge our faithful and all people of good will to work together to this end,” the Bishops stated.

The Bishops also noted that Pope Francis has repeatedly called for the abolition of the death penalty and has described it as “an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person.” He is urging nations to realise that God’s infinite mercy extends to everyone – including those who have committed heinous crimes, the Bishops added.

Pope Francis was again quoted as saying “For the rule of law, the death penalty represents a failure, as it obliges the state to kill in the name of justice. There is discussion in some quarters about the method of killing, as if it were possible to find ways of ‘getting it right’. But there is no humane way of killing another person. The commandment ‘thou shall not kill’ has absolute value and pertains to the innocent as well as the guilty.