ARIZONA, March 30, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Arizona have issued a statement in which they argue that the unnecessary use of the death penalty is a “contribution to a ‘culture of death.’”
“We firmly hold that capital punishment is state-sanctioned vengeance that is not in keeping with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We hold that capital punishment – when other means are available to keep society safe from dangerous criminals – denies the intrinsic dignity and sanctity of human life,” the March 28 statement reads.
The Arizona bishops expressed deep sympathy and compassion for “victims of brutal crimes and for their families,” acknowledging the “truly awful” effects of murder and praying for healing for “whose who grieve and suffer.” However, they maintain they are “compelled” to speak, in light of state execution schedules, in “opposition to the use of the death penalty” in Arizona.
While approving punishment for the “heinous crime” of murder, the bishops affirmed, “executions in our state do not defend anyone, and are therefore wrong.”
“The use of the death penalty – when other means are available to keep society safe – is actually a contribution to a ‘culture of death.’ It is an act of eye-for-an-eye vengeance that contradicts the values of our nation and that denies the dignity and sanctity of human life.”
Echoing the positions of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the bishops called for an end to “the unnecessary violence of the death penalty.”
“We pray that the dignity and sanctity of human life at every stage be respected and protected,” they concluded.