The bishops of Georgia and North and South Carolina on Sept. 3 issued a statement opposing the use of capital punishment. Text of their statement follows:

On May 13, 1981, a stunned world heard the news that a lone gunman had made an attempt on the Pope's life. The Holy Father, John Paul II, a man beloved and respected by all people, the Shepherd of the Church, and the representative on earth of the Prince of Peace, had become a victim of planned violence and obscure political forces. It was hard to believe that this man, so dedicated to peace, so devoted to the well-being of all men and women, could be savagely attacked, and marked for death.

But the righteous indignation of the world, the cries for retribution and vengeance were quickly put into context by this most peaceful of men. As soon as his recovered health would permit, Pope John Paul went to the Rebibbia Prison to meet the man who had desired to end his life. Afterward the Holy Father said:

I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned, and who has my complete trust... The Lord gave us the grace to meet as men and brothers, because all the events of our lives must confirm that God is our Father and all of us are His children in Jesus Christ, and thus we are all brothers.1

In forgiveness and reconciliation, Pope John Paul brought to life that charge laid on his predecessor, Peter, who came to Jesus and asked:

"Lord, if my brother sins against me how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times" (Matt. 18:21-22).2

The famous photograph of the encounter between Ali Agca and Pope John Paul, seen by millions on the cover of Time, is a searing momento of the power of mercy, and the nobility of forgiving. It is a twentieth century portrait of perhaps the most profound and difficult of Christ's teachings put into action - the necessity of forgiving our enemies, of loving those who hate, of returning good for the evil done to us, and of doing these things, not on isolated occasions, but consistently, throughout our lives. "Not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

In the early Fall of 1989 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, representing the Bishops of the United States, spoke before the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate.

The Catholic Bishops of the United States are deeply committed to defending the sanctity of human life... We believe human life is so precious that the state should not take the life of any person, even one who has taken another life. Society must send a message that we can break the cycle of violence, that we need not take life for life.3

This is no new revelation, but part of the visible and definite law of our faith. Jesus says,

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you: offer no resistance to one who is evil. You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. (Mt. 5:38-39, 43-45).

Do we hear the challenge of these words? Do we understand and accept that they are not a request, but a commandment? Do they enter into our own reasonings and affect the judgements we make about preventing crime and punishing criminals? Are they echoed in our conversations with others? We say, "Lord, Lord, I hear your words, and I will try to follow them."

And yet, we so often persist in offering the old arguments, the old codes of returning evil for evil, violence for violence, death for death. We compromise the teaching of Jesus Christ with our protestations about retribution and deterrence. We forget that He brought the ancient Law to completion and fulfillment in His new Law of Love. We are beguiled by the persistent vagaries of human justice. We say, "This person deserves death for what he did. But this other person does not deserve death." Do we truly think that we possess the wisdom necessary to look deep into the heart of any criminal and really know what is there? Do we truly believe that the jury system, fair and equitable as it may be, can always operate without error, can always view the criminal free from prejudice or emotional bias? Do we know with certitude that our deliberations over justice are free from taint or tampering? In the face of such uncertainty, can we accept the responsibility for taking anyone's life, even the life of willful and sane murderers?

It would seem more in keeping with the faith we profess to come down on the side of mercy. It would seem, if Christ truly acts in us, that our efforts to redress wrongs and to punish offenders, to repair injury and to assuage the harm done to victims - our efforts must never ignore that the person who is judged and condemned remains a human person, and our neighbor. It would seem more fitting for Christians to isolate those who are unreformable, under humane and dignified conditions, and leave the determination of life and death in the hands of God, who gives life in the first place. It would seem that Jesus Christ Himself has told us to give the sinner another chance, and another, and another. Seventy-seven times.

With humble faith in the teaching of Jesus Christ, we bishops of the Province of Atlanta affirm once again, and propose to the Catholics of our dioceses that, "in the conditions of contemporary American society, the legitimate purposes of punishment do not justify the imposition of the death penalty."4

We fully realize how difficult it is for many to hear our appeal, but we are compelled to make if nonetheless. Our belief that the imposition of death as punishment for crime is unacceptable, is also an invitation for all people to reconsider their own beliefs about crime and punishment.

Do our hearts identify justice with retaliation and vengeance? Can there be justice without forgiveness and mercy?5 As bishops responsible for the well-being of the Catholic Church in the States of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, we encourage all our fellow citizens to examine these questions in light of the saving words of Jesus Christ:

Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven ... for the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. (Luke 6:37-38)

(Endnotes)

1 Quoted in Time, January 9, 1984, p.29

2 All passages from Scripture are from The New American Bible and Revised New Testament, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

3 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, "Testimony submitted S. 32 - Procedures for the Use of the Death Penalty" (Washington, DC: September 28, 1989).

4 Cf. USCC, "Statement of Capital Punishment," Origins, Vol. 10 #24, Nov. 27, 1980, p. 375.

5 Cf. John Paul II, Dives en Misericordia, no. 12.