fbpx Skip to Main Content

Blog

U.S. bishops say ‘enough’ on federal executions

Posted on by Catholic News Service

Just hours before the sixth federal execution took place this year, and two days before the next one was scheduled, two U.S. bishops’ committee chairmen called on the government to end this practice.

“We say to President Trump and Attorney General Barr: Enough. Stop these executions,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a statement issued late Sept. 22.

“In the last 60 years, before the Trump administration restarted federal executions, there were only four federal executions. Since July, there have been five, which is already more federal executions than were carried out in any year in the last century,” the bishops said.

They said the Catholic Church “must give concrete help to victims of violence” and “encourage the rehabilitation and restoration of those who commit violence.” They noted that “accountability and legitimate punishment are a part of this process” and emphasized that “responsibility for harm is necessary if healing is to occur and can be instrumental in protecting society.”

“Executions are completely unnecessary and unacceptable, as Popes St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have all articulated,” they added.

The bishops’ statement was issued the day before Barr, a Catholic, was scheduled to receive the Christifideles Laici Award, named for St. John Paul II’s postsynodal exhortation, at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. The award is given by the independent Catholic organization in “honor and gratitude for fidelity to the church, exemplary selfless and steadfast service in the Lord’s vineyard.”

The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, Catholic Mobilizing Network and the Santa Fe Archdiocese’s Office of Social Justice and Respect Life spoke out against Barr receiving this honor, emphasizing that in his role as attorney general, he directed the federal government in July 2019 to resume the execution of prisoners on federal death row.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network, which works to end use of the death penalty and promotes criminal justice reform and restorative justice, relaunched its petition against federal executions in early September, emphasizing that Barr was being honored “despite promoting actions contrary to Catholic teaching.”

And a Sept. 23 statement by the group’s executive director, Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, further denounced Barr’s award, especially for its presentation in between two federal executions, saying it “could mislead the public to believe the Catholic Church somehow condones the death penalty. This is categorically false.”

She also said that under Barr’s leadership, the Department of Justice has “carried out more executions in 2020 than in any other comparable time in the past 70 years. Nothing about this is pro-life.”

The Catholic Mobilizing Network led a virtual prayer vigil Sept. 22, hours before the federal execution of 50-year-old William Emmett LeCroy, who was charged with the 2001 murder of a Georgia nurse.

They were to lead another virtual prayer vigil Sept. 24 before the scheduled execution of Christopher Vialva, a 40-year-old from Texas who was convicted of kidnapping and killing an Iowa couple in 1999. Vialva will be the first Black man to be executed since the federal executions resumed this year after a 17-year hiatus.

In prison, Vialva became a Messianic Jew and in recent years he has regularly ministered to fellow inmates, according to a report on WFIU public radio in Indiana.

LeCroy received a lethal injection Sept. 22 at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Nearby was his spiritual adviser, Sister Barbara Battista, a Sister of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods.

Sister Battista told local radio station WTWO in Indianapolis that during the execution, members of her order were planning to join death penalty protesters nearby. “We are attempting to send a clear message that says: ‘No we need to stop this. No more death penalty, no more extrajudicial killing, stop police killing, stop mass incarceration,'” she said.

At the Sept. 22 virtual prayer service, a statement written by Atlanta Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer was read aloud to the 215 online participants. It said: “The death penalty goes against the church’s pro-life teaching rooted in the inherent dignity of every human person. It jeopardizes innocent lives since the justice system has wrongfully convicted innocent people.”

He also said “a convict who is killed never has an opportunity to repent or seek reconciliation with those he or she may have hurt. We must always leave open the door for redemption and rehabilitation.”

The archbishop prayed for LeCroy’s victim, Joann Lee Tiesler, and for her family. He also prayed for LeCroy “because he is a child of God” whose life has worth and dignity.

He also prayed for government employees involved in carrying out the death penalty and that “our judicial and political system may find a way to end the death penalty, so as to achieve a measure of justice that does not involve the violence of execution of a fellow human being.”

— Carol Zimmermann

U.S. Bishops Respond to Terror Attack in New York City

Posted on by Vermont Catholic 
(CNS photo/Jason Szenes, EPA)Emergency personnel remove a victim's body Oct. 31 after a man driving a rented pickup truck ran down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City. The incident occurred near the World Trade Center memorial, killing at least eight and seriously injuring 11 in what the Mayor Bill de Blasio called "a particularly cowardly act of terror."
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement in response to yesterday afternoon’s deadly attack on innocent people in Manhattan that has left at least eight people dead.

Cardinal DiNardo’s full statement follows:

“This afternoon we heard of what appears to be a deliberate attack on innocent people in New York City. This horrendous act weighs on all of our hearts. Reports about the attack are too preliminary to understand fully what has happened, but it grieves me deeply that we must again respond to such acts of terror.

To the family and friends of those who have died, please know that you are not alone, and that the prayers of the Bishops and of all the Church are with you and your loved ones. To you and to everyone, I would like to say that the forces of darkness always try to wipe away our hope; but our hope is in the name of the Lord and will always remain firm. Let us remember the words of the Lord to prophet Joshua: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.”

U.S. bishops release national synthesis outlining common themes in synod listening sessions

Posted on by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America. The synthesis marks the completion of the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.

Last October, Pope Francis invited the global Catholic Church to reflect on walking together and listening to one another. This “Synod on Synodality” is a two-year process that began with local dioceses and parishes engaging in dialogue through listening sessions. Each diocese then prepared a report of what was heard at these sessions. In turn, those local reports were then sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops  and a national summary was created and sent to the Holy See on August 29, 2022.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, who shepherded the preparation of the synthesis, wrote, “With immense gratitude, I have the distinct honor of sharing the National Synthesis. This pivotal document is the culmination of ten months of intentional listening carried out throughout the Church in the U.S. The synodal consultations, from parishes, dioceses, and national regions express the voices of hundreds of thousands in our local churches.”

The National Synthesis represents the synodal efforts of the 178 Latin dioceses in the United States, including the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter that serves both the United States and Canada. Due to their long history of synodal practice, the Eastern Catholic Churches shared their reports directly with the Holy See.

Catholic associations, organizations and national ministries in the United States were also invited to participate in the Synod by submitting a summary report from their listening sessions to the USCCB’s Synod Team. In all, 112 submissions were received from organizations and combined with the reports from each of the (Arch)Dioceses, 290 documents in total were received. These contributions represent over 22,000 reports from individual parishes and other groups. There were over 30,000 opportunities to participate in the Synod through in-person and virtual listening sessions as well as online surveys. An estimated 700,000 people participated in the diocesan phase of the Synod in the United States.

Bishop Flores said, “The synthesis is, among other things, an expression of the common joys, hopes, and wounds the bishops have heard and are hearing from the wider body of the Church. The publication of this document is not a concluding moment, it is instead an invitation to continue to dialogue and discern, together, those matters that weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of Catholics in the U.S.”

The National Synthesis is available in both English and Spanish. More information about the diocesan phase of the 2021-2023 Synod – For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission, as well as a brief overview of the next steps in the process can be found at usccb.org/synod.

U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chairman Reacts to President’s Removal of the Hyde Amendment in Federal Budget

Posted on by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

After the Biden Administration released its federal budget proposal last Friday, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, expressed deep concerns about its proposal to eliminate the Hyde Amendment and some related pro-life provisions. The Hyde Amendment, which has been in effect since 1976 with bipartisan support, prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. Archbishop Naumann called on Congress to preserve it and “to work toward a budget that truly builds up the common good of all.” His full statement follows:

  “No member of our great nation is weaker, more vulnerable, or less protected, than the child in the womb. There are aspects to President Biden’s budget proposal that will assist vulnerable people. However, Congress must reject the Administration’s proposal to subsidize the deaths of unborn children. For nearly half a century, the Hyde Amendment and related provisions have protected taxpayers from funding most abortions. These policies have broad support from Democrats and Republicans. They have been enacted and signed into law by congresses and presidents of both political parties and have been broadly supported by the majority of low-income women, including women of color.

  “Taxpayer-funded abortion represents a failure to serve women in their maternity by funding despair and death instead of hope and life. All women deserve the resources to enable them to fully care for and nurture their baby, to welcome them in a loving, stable environment. These resources would be far better spent supporting women in crisis pregnancies and struggling new mothers so that no woman ever feels economic pressure to have an abortion.

  “I call on all government leaders to work toward a budget that truly builds up the common good of all. This should include the many proposals in the President’s budget submission that seek to protect vulnerable people. And it must also preserve the Hyde Amendment and related provisions which have protected millions of unborn babies, and mothers in difficult circumstances, from the tragedy of abortion.”

U.S. Bishops’ president condemns violent protests, prays for safety as chaos threatens Capitol

Posted on by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s violence in the United States Capitol:

“I join people of good will in condemning the violence today at the United States Capitol. This is not who we are as Americans. I am praying for members of Congress and Capitol staff and for the police and all those working to restore order and public safety.

“The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of this great nation. In this troubling moment, we must recommit ourselves to the values and principles of our democracy and come together as one nation under God. I entrust all of us to the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. May she guide us in the ways of peace, and obtain for us wisdom and the grace of a true patriotism and love of country.”

 

CNS/Bob Roller

U.S. Bishops Encourage Prayer, Support in Response to Hurricanes

Posted on by Vermont Catholic 
(CNS photo/Bob Roller)Franciscan Father John Tran Nguyen, pastor of St. Peter Church in Rockport, Texas, stands inside his destroyed church Sept. 8 in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The parish is home to mainly Vietnamese-American Catholics.

In the wake of two devastating hurricanes in just two weeks, the Executive Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released the following statement:

“With lives and livelihoods still at risk in Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean, we pray for the safety and care of human life in the wake of two catastrophic hurricanes. The massive scale of the dual disasters and the effect it has on communities, families and individuals cannot be fully comprehended or adequately addressed in the immediate aftermath of the storms.

At this time of initial recovery, we mourn the loss of life, homes and other property, and the harm to the natural environment, and we pray for all those affected and in need of assistance. We also pray for the safety of, and in thanksgiving for, the first responders who are risking their lives at this very moment in care for their neighbors, especially those who are elderly, sick, homeless, or otherwise already in need of special assistance.

We share Pope Francis’ trust that the Catholic faithful here in the United States will respond to the needs presented by these disasters with a ‘vast outpouring of solidarity and mutual aid in the best traditions of the nation.’ We encourage the faithful to respond generously with prayers, financial support, and for those who have the opportunity, the volunteering of time and talents in support of those in need.”

More information on how you can help can be found on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Emergency Collections for Disaster and Crisis Reliefwebpage.