Faith

Texas faith leaders say chaplains shouldn't be banned from executions

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:13:03 -0400

WASHINGTON -- More than 180 faith leaders in Texas, including 18 Catholics, signed a statement sent to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice July 23 asking the agency to change its policy banning prison chaplains from execution chambers.

Catholic leaders object to reinstatement of federal death penalty

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:02:27 -0400

WASHINGTON -- The July 25 announcement by the Justice Department that it is reinstating the federal death penalty for the first time in 16 years was unwelcome news for Catholic leaders who have advocated against capital punishment.

Kentucky judge declares death penalty protocol unconstitutional

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 15:23:25 -0400

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Franklin County Circuit judge ruled July 2 that Kentucky's death penalty regulations are unconstitutional because they fail to provide for an automatic stay of execution for intellectually disabled inmates.

Death penalty is inhuman, ignores mercy, Pope Francis says

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 11:17:13 -0500

VATICAN – The death penalty is an inhumane form of punishment that ignores the primacy of mercy in the name of justice, Pope Francis said.

Asia Bibi's release sets legal precedent in Pakistan

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:14:55 -0400

SYDNEY – Asia Bibi has been released from death row and prison in Pakistan and is now under heavy protective guard in a secret location with her family, reported a longtime Catholic missionary involved with negotiations in Pakistan about her case.

Pakistan court sets aside death sentence for Catholic woman convicted of blasphemy

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 11:00:34 -0400

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Catholic convicted of blasphemy, and ordered her release from prison.

Vatican diplomat calls for universal abolition of death penalty

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 12:00:12 -0400

VATICAN – Abolishing the death penalty worldwide would reflect the brave and hope-filled belief that crime can be dealt with without capital punishment and that a criminal should be given the chance to reform, a top Vatican diplomat told world leaders.

Editorial: Killing is never right

editor@catholicregister.org (Catholic Register Editorial) — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 17:58:09 -0400

By categorically rejecting the death penalty, the Church has finally removed an unsettling contradiction to its teaching that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death.

Myanmar's Cardinal Bo backs Pope's opposition to death penalty

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 12:19:19 -0400

MANDALAY, Myanmar – Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar, hailed Pope Francis' admonition that imposing the death penalty is always inadmissible.

Pope Francis changes catechism to say death penalty is 'inadmissible'

cns@catholicregister.org (Catholic News Service) — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 09:48:30 -0400

VATICAN – Building on the development of Catholic Church teaching against capital punishment, Pope Francis has ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" and to commit the church to working toward its abolition worldwide.