More than 2,000 in St. Peter's Square protest capital punishment

Published: 2007-04-10

ROME (CNS) -- More than 2,000 people protesting capital punishment marched through Rome to St. Peter's Square on Easter morning. The Easter March, as it was called, was designed to put pressure on the Italian government to propose a moratorium on capital punishment at the U.N. General Assembly April 23. The April 8 march was organized by the Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic lay community, and Hands Off Cain, an international nonprofit organization that works to end capital punishment. Various Italian political figures -- including Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni and Marco Pannella, a member of the European Parliament -- participated in the march. Pannella, founder of Italy's Radical Party, had been on a hunger strike since March 21 to push the Italian government to take action against capital punishment. The marchers arrived in St. Peter's Square just moments before Pope Benedict XVI delivered his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and to the world) in which he lamented the wars, disasters and horrors that plague the world today. Some march participants, who held banners in the square, were disappointed that the pope did not recognize them in his greeting and did not speak about capital punishment.

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