St. Louis archbishop asks parishes to back death penalty moratorium

Published: 2005-12-13

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke is asking parishes in his archdiocese to join efforts to seek a moratorium on the death penalty in Missouri. The archdiocesan Commission on Human Rights has been collecting signatures on petitions asking for the moratorium. The resolution will be sent to the state's governor and legislators, members of its congressional delegation and President George W. Bush. So far 30 parishes and a half-dozen other groups have supported the effort. In a letter to pastors, Archbishop Burke cited the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," which says cases in which an execution is an absolute necessity to defend others "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." The archbishop repeated the words of Pope John Paul II in his homily at a Mass during his visit to St. Louis in 1999. The pope said modern society has the means of protecting itself without imposing the death penalty.

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