from Faith in Public Life
As Christians begin a week commemorating the torture, suffering and execution of Jesus, prominent Catholic and evangelical leaders are urging public officials to end the use of capital punishment.
“All who reverence the sanctity of human life, created in the image of God, must never remain silent when firing squads, lethal injections, electric chairs and other instruments of death are viewed as morally acceptable,” nearly 400 Catholic theologians, women religious, Christian evangelical leaders and faith-based social justice advocates write in a statement released today. “We urge governors, prosecutors, judges and anyone entrusted with power to do all that they can to end a practice that diminishes our humanity and contributes to a culture of violence and retribution without restoration.”
Signatories on the statement include two former presidents of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; several presidents of Catholic universities; Miguel Diaz, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See; Sister Helen Prejean, a prominent anti-death penalty activist; Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners; Shane Claiborne, Red Letter Christians/The Simple Way; David Gushee, a leading evangelical ethicist at Mercer University; Rev. Gabriel Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition; Lynne Hybels, evangelical author and activist; Sr. Patty Chappell, SNDdeN, Executive Director of Pax Christi USA; and Dr. Bill Coates, senior pastor of First Baptist Gainesville, the church attended by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.
The Holy Week push comes at a time when a diverse set of religious leaders are speaking out against the death penalty and several high-profile cases have drawn national attention. Pope Francis has raised the issue of capital punishment several times in recent days, calling the practice “cruel, inhumane and degrading.” In liturgical reflections to be used by the pope during this week’s Good Friday meditations at the Colosseum in Rome – an annual Way of the Cross service that focuses on Christ’s torture and crucifixion – the Pope will read: “When will the death penalty, still practiced in many states, be abolished?”…