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Protesters against the death penalty gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington June 29. (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

In a message commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty on July 16, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops renewed its opposition to capital punishment. “Our faith tradition offers a unique perspective on crime and punishment, one grounded in mercy and healing, not punishment for its own sake,” wrote Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., of Boston, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “No matter how heinous the crime, if society can protect itself without ending a human life, it should do so. Today, we have this capability.”

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norman ravitch
8 years 9 months ago
There is nothing in the Old Testament or the New Testament or the history of the Jews and Christians which condemns capital punishment.

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