Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal JusticeA Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United States Show Issued by USCCB, November 15, 2000. Copyright © 2000, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. All rights reserved. "We are still a long way from the time when our conscience can be certain of having done everything possible to prevent crime and to control it effectively so that it no longer does harm and, at the same time, to offer to those who commit crimes a way of redeeming themselves and making a positive return to society. If all those in some way involved in the problem tried to . . . develop this line of thought, perhaps humanity as a whole could take a great step forward in creating a more serene and peaceful society." Pope John Paul II, July 9, 2000 Table of Contents
IntroductionAs Catholic bishops, our response to crime in the United States is a moral test for our nation and a challenge for our Church. Although the FBI reports that the crime rate is falling, crime and fear of crime still touch many lives and polarize many communities. Putting more people in prison and, sadly, more people to death has not given Americans the security we seek. It is time for a new national dialogue on crime and corrections, justice and mercy, responsibility and treatment. As Catholics, we need to ask the following: How can we restore our respect for law and life? How can we protect and rebuild communities, confront crime without vengeance, and defend life without taking life? These questions challenge us as pastors and as teachers of the Gospel. Our tasks are to restore a sense of civility and responsibility to everyday life, and promote crime prevention and genuine rehabilitation. The common good is undermined by criminal behavior that threatens the lives and dignity of others and by policies that seem to give up on those who have broken the law (offering too little treatment and too few alternatives to either years in prison or the execution of those who have been convicted of terrible crimes). New approaches must move beyond the slogans of the moment (such as "three strikes and you're out") and the excuses of the past (such as "criminals are simply trapped by their background"). Crime, corrections, and the search for real community require far more than the policy clichés of conservatives and liberals. A Catholic approach begins with the recognition that the dignity of the human person applies to both victim and offender. As bishops, we believe that the current trend of more prisons and more executions, with too little education and drug treatment, does not truly reflect Christian values and will not really leave our communities safer. We are convinced that our tradition and our faith offer better alternatives that can hold offenders accountable and challenge them to change their lives; reach out to victims and reject vengeance; restore a sense of community and resist the violence that has engulfed so much of our culture. Crime and the Catholic Community As bishops, teachers, and pastors, we seek to offer a perspective inspired by our Catholic tradition to the national discussion on crime. For us, crime and the destruction it brings raise fundamental questions about the nature of personal responsibility, community, sin, and redemption. A distinctively Catholic approach to these questions can offer society another way to understand and respond to crime, its victims, and its perpetrators. We approach this topic, however, with caution and modesty. The causes of crime are complex. The ways to overcome violence are not simple. The chances of being misunderstood are many. In developing these reflections, we have consulted with Catholics who are involved in every aspect of the criminal justice system: prison chaplains, police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation and parole officers, wardens, correctional officers, crime victims, offenders, families of both victims and offenders, and treatment personnel. In our parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities agencies, Catholics see firsthand the crushing poverty and the breakdown of family life that often lead to crime and at the same time care for prisoners, victims, and their families. All of their experience and wisdom has been helpful to us. As bishops, we offer a word of thanks and support to those who devote their lives and talents to the tasks of protection and restoration: chaplains and prison ministry volunteers, police and corrections officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and counselors. We call on others to join them in a new commitment to prevent crime and to rebuild lives and communities. As ordained ministers committed to service, deacons should be especially drawn to the challenge of Matthew 25: "For I was . . . in prison and you visited me." We also wish to stand in solidarity with crime victims in their pain and loss, insisting that all our institutions reach out to them with understanding, compassion, and healing. Many Catholics help to prevent and control crime, especially among our youth. No one can take the place of parents, but grandparents, pastors, coaches, teachers, mentors, as well as neighbors, parishioners, and community leaders all help to guide, confront, and care for young people at risk. At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that some Catholics have been convicted of theft and drug dealing, spousal and child abuse, even rape and murder. In fact, it is reported that more than thirty-seven thousand federal prisoners (30 percent of the federal inmate population)1 are baptized Catholic, many more Catholics are in local jails and state prisons, and hundreds of thousands are on probation or parole. Catholics can also be found among white-collar criminals whose illegal actions in businesses, financial markets, and government halls seriously damage our common life and economic stability. All those whom we consulted seemed to agree on one thing: the status quo is not really working—victims are often ignored, offenders are often not rehabilitated, and many communities have lost their sense of security. All of these committed people spoke with a sense of passion and urgency that the system is broken in many ways. We share their concern and believe that it does not live up to the best of our nation's values and falls short of our religious principles. In light of this, we seek to do the following in these reflections:
Some Dimensions of Crime and Punishment in the United States Victims of Crime in the United States: In 1998, about one out of every twenty-seven Americans over the age of twelve was the victim of a violent crime (e.g., murder, rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) and approximately one out of every four American households suffered a property crime (e.g., household burglary, auto theft).3 African Americans and Hispanic Americans have been victimized at far higher rates than others. For example, in 1990, the murder rate for young black men was 140 victims per 100,000—seven times the rate for young white men.4 Also affected by crime are the children left behind by incarcerated parents—children who themselves are at risk for criminal activity. One and one-half million children under the age of eighteen (or 2.1 percent) have a parent in state or federal prison. Of these, 22 percent are under the age of five and 58 percent are less than ten. Most of the parents (92.6 percent) are fathers, and most are disproportionately African American (49.4 percent) and Hispanic American (18.9 percent). African American children are nine times more likely to have a parent incarcerated (7 percent) than white children (0.8 percent), and Hispanic American children are three times as likely (2.6 percent) as white children.5 In response to so much crime and the treatment of those touched by crime, a strong and growing movement has emerged that advocates on behalf of crime victims and seeks to make the justice system more responsive to their concerns.6 We believe that these efforts deserve support. We encourage and stand with victims and those who assist them. A fundamental moral measure of the criminal justice system is how it responds to those harmed by crime. Too often, the criminal justice system neglects the hurt and needs of victims or seeks to exploit their anger and pain to support punitive policies. Not victims in the usual sense but certainly personally affected by crime are peace officers and those who work in correctional facilities. This is difficult work especially for those who work on death row and participate in executions in the regular course of their duties. They too are often in need of healing and compassion. We support steps to educate, train, evaluate, and counsel peace officers, consistent with a culture of life. White-collar crime also costs our society in major ways. It is reported that the average business enterprise loses more than $9 a day per employee to fraud and abuse or about 6 percent of its total annual revenue. More than $400 billion is lost annually to U.S. businesses and government by fraud and abuse.7 These crimes often go unacknowledged and unpunished, but they can have a devastating impact on employees, investors, consumers, and taxpayers who pay the price for corruption and dishonesty. We all lose when industries fail to obey the laws that ensure that the land, water, and air are not harmed. People in positions of power and responsibility have particular obligations to live within the law and not to enrich themselves at the expense of others. Punishment in the United States: The many forms of punishment for those who are convicted of crime in the United States vary, ranging from fines and probation to boot camps and chain gangs, to incarceration in jails and prisons, and finally to the death penalty. In 1998, the imprisonment rate in America was 668 per 100,000 offenders. This is six to twelve times higher than the rate of other Western countries.8 This astounding rate of incarceration is due to policies such as "three strikes and you're out" and "zero-tolerance" for drug offenders.9 As incarceration rates have increased, so have other punitive measures. Mandatory minimum sentences are much more common as is the willingness to use isolation units. As of 1997, thirty-six states and the federal government have constructed "supermax" prisons.10 These facilities isolate prisoners considered most dangerous and confine them to small cells by themselves for twenty-two to twenty-four hours each day. Additionally, the death penalty is being used with increasing frequency. In Texas and Virginia alone, nearly three hundred executions have taken place since 1976, many of them within the last three years. And in California well over five hundred people are on death row. These statistics and policies reflect legislative action at the federal and state levels that is adopted by legislators seeking to appear "tough on crime" in response to often sensational media coverage of crime. The United States spends more than $35 billion annually on corrections. In many states, education, health and human services, and public transportation budgets remain stagnant or decline while more and more prisons are built.11 Also suffering from a diversion of public dollars for prison construction are the very critical programs of probation and parole, halfway houses, community treatment options, and other post-release programs. For some small towns facing losses in agriculture, mining, or manufacturing, the economic benefits from building a prison and offering related services are seen as economic development creating vital new jobs.12 Rural communities may not have the social or physical infrastructure to handle either the facility itself, the needs of the inmate's family, or the needs of the staff. But public debate rarely encourages serious dialogue about the costs of incarceration versus less costly alternatives, such as prevention, education, community efforts, and drug treatment. Characteristics of the Inmate Population: The inmate population has risen from 250,000 in 1972 to a record two million inmates in 2000. Just as African and Hispanic Americans are victimized at higher rates, so too, are they incarcerated at higher rates:
Recent studies show that African, Hispanic, and Native Americans are often treated more harshly than other citizens in their encounters with the criminal justice system (including police activity, the handling of juvenile defendants, and prosecution and sentencing).16 These studies confirm that the racism and discrimination that continue to haunt our nation are reflected in similar ways in the criminal justice system. Prison inmates have high rates of substance abuse, illiteracy, and mental illness. According to the Department of Justice, nearly two million people are behind bars, of whom
While the vast majority of inmates in the United States are men, the number of women being incarcerated has increased 600 percent since 1980, largely as a result of tougher drug laws. This rate of increase is higher than the rate of increase for men. Seventy percent of female inmates are non-violent offenders, and an equal number have left children behind, often in foster care, as they enter prison.19 Detention of Immigrants: We bishops have a long history of supporting the rights of immigrants. Therefore, the special circumstances of immigrants in detention centers is of particular concern. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) uses a variety of methods to detain immigrants, some of them clearly inappropriate, such as placing detainees in prisons with convicted felons or in local jails where conditions are deplorable. Recently enacted laws have resulted in the tripling of the number of non-citizens incarcerated and awaiting deportation, including women and minors.20 Now the INS is required to detain and deport immigrants who have committed an offense in the past, even if they have served a sentence for that offense and are now contributing members of society. Many of these people (an estimated five thousand out of the estimated twenty thousand immigrants under INS detention) spend months or even years in detention centers because they are refused repatriation by their countries of origin. Others languish because they are victims of an overwhelmed INS bureaucracy. These lengthy stays place considerable hardship on other family members living in the United States or in their country of origin, many of whom have depended on the income of the person incarcerated. Additionally, new rules allow for "expedited removal" of those seeking asylum—a process whereby INS officials turn away those fleeing persecution in their home countries. Those not quickly returned are placed in detention centers for weeks or even months until they receive an asylum hearing. Offenders and Treatment: Since the 1970s, a considerable debate has developed in the United States about whether treatment programs work and to what extent.21 Careful reviews of the literature on rehabilitation have concluded that treatment does reduce recidivism. No single type of treatment or rehabilitation program, however, works for every offender. The effectiveness of programs depends on many things, including type of offense, quality of the program, and family, church, and community support. One area of criminal activity that seems to respond to treatment is substance abuse. More is being learned about how substance abuse and crime are linked in the United States. According to a National Institute of Justice report, at the time of their arrest two-thirds of adults and half of juveniles tested positive for at least one drug.22 Recent nationwide studies have concluded that drug treatment is reducing drug use, criminal activity, and physical and mental health problems, as well as increasing employment potential.23 These research studies also suggest that drug treatment is a very cost-effective method to reduce substance abuse and crime.24 The savings to tax payers from quality substance abuse treatment versus imprisonment is significant (three to one in a recent RAND Corporation study).25 Furthermore, community-based substance abuse programs and programs that address behaviors that lead people to crime are far less expensive than similar programs in prison and produce effective and encouraging results.26 Finally, new studies confirm what our pastoral experience has demonstrated: that physical, behavioral, and emotional healing happens sooner and with more lasting results if accompanied by spiritual healing.27 Access to worship and religious formation is not only guaranteed by the Constitution, it is a significant element in rebuilding lives and changing behavior. We now turn our attention to our Catholic tradition and examine how it might help frame our nation's responses to crime. Scriptural, Theological, and Sacramental HeritageEvery day Christians pray for justice and mercy in the prayer that Jesus taught us: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Every day Christians recognize both that we are guilty of sin and that we are forgiven: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." This common prayer, the Lord's Prayer, recognizes our failures and offenses, and acknowledges our dependence on God's love and mercy. Our Catholic faith can help us and others to go beyond the current debate and gain a deeper understanding of how to reject crime, help heal its victims, and pursue the common good. We wish to move away from the so-called "soft" or "tough" approaches to crime and punishment offered by those at opposite ends of the political spectrum. St. Paul outlined our task when he told us to "test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil" (1 Thes 5:21). He calls us to affirm the demands of both justice and mercy, the place of punishment and forgiveness, and the reality of free will and poor choices. In the United States, history tells us that the prison system was, in some ways, built on a moral vision of the human person and society—one that combined a spiritual rekindling with punishment and correction.28 But along the way, this vision has too often been lost. The evidence surrounds us: sexual and physical abuse among inmates and sometimes by corrections officers, gang violence, racial division, the absence of educational opportunities and treatment programs, the increasing use of isolation units, and society's willingness to sentence children to adult prisons—all contributing to a high rate of recidivism. Our society seems to prefer punishment to rehabilitation and retribution to restoration thereby indicating a failure to recognize prisoners as human beings. In some ways, an approach to criminal justice that is inspired by a Catholic vision is a paradox. We cannot and will not tolerate behavior that threatens lives and violates the rights of others. We believe in responsibility, accountability, and legitimate punishment. Those who harm others or damage property must be held accountable for the hurt they have caused. The community has a right to establish and enforce laws to protect people and to advance the common good. At the same time, a Catholic approach does not give up on those who violate these laws. We believe that both victims and offenders are children of God. Despite their very different claims on society, their lives and dignity should be protected and respected. We seek justice, not vengeance. We believe punishment must have clear purposes: protecting society and rehabilitating those who violate the law. We believe a Catholic vision of crime and criminal justice can offer some alternatives. It recognizes that root causes and personal choices can both be factors in crime by understanding the need for responsibility on the part of the offender and an opportunity for their rehabilitation. A Catholic approach leads us to encourage models of restorative justice that seek to address crime in terms of the harm done to victims and communities, not simply as a violation of law. Scriptural Foundations Just as God never abandons us, so too we must be in covenant with one another. We are all sinners, and our response to sin and failure should not be abandonment and despair, but rather justice, contrition, reparation, and return or reintegration of all into the community. The New Testament builds on this tradition and extends it. Jesus demonstrated his disappointment with those who oppressed others (Mt 23) and those who defiled sacred spaces (Jn 2). At the same time, he rejected punishment for its own sake, noting that we are all sinners (Jn 8). Jesus also rejected revenge and retaliation and was ever hopeful that offenders would transform their lives and turn to be embraced by God's love. Jesus, who himself was a prisoner, calls us to visit the imprisoned and to take care of the sick (including victims of crime), the homeless, and the hungry (Mt 25). His mission began with proclaiming good news to the poor and release to captives (Lk 4). In our day, we are called to find Christ in young children at risk, troubled youth, prisoners in our jails and on death row, and crime victims experiencing pain and loss. The story of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10), who did all he could to help a victim of crime, a stranger, is a model for us today. We must be willing to stop and help victims of crime recover from their physical and emotional wounds. The parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15) shows God's love for us and models how we should love one another. In spite of his younger son's reckless life and squandering of his inheritance, the father celebrates his return home, recognizing that his son has shown contrition and has changed his life. The lost who have been found are to be welcomed and celebrated, not resented and rejected. Pope John Paul II said What Christ is looking for is trusting acceptance, an attitude which opens the mind to generous decisions aimed at rectifying the evil done and fostering what is good. Sometimes this involves a long journey, but always a stimulating one, for it is a journey not made alone, but in the company of Christ himself and with his support. . . . He never tires of encouraging each person along the path to salvation.29 Sacramental and Historical Heritage The four traditional elements of the sacrament of Penance have much to teach us about taking responsibility, making amends, and reintegrating into community:
Centuries ago, St. Thomas Aquinas taught us that punishment of wrongdoers is clearly justified in the Catholic tradition, but is never justified for its own sake. A compassionate community and a loving God seek accountability and correction but not suffering for its own sake. Punishment must have a constructive and redemptive purpose. Today these traditional teachings still shape our understanding of punishment. We begin with a belief in the existence of a natural moral law that resides within the hearts of individuals and within the life of the community. This moral code is common to all peoples and is never fully excused by external circumstances. All are born with free will that must be nurtured and informed by spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical disciplines and by the community. Although not everyone has the same ability to exercise free will, each person is responsible for and will be judged by his or her actions according to the potential that has been given to him or her. We believe that it is God who ultimately judges a person's motivation, intention, and the forces that shaped that person's actions. Catholic Social Teaching Human Life and Dignity: The fundamental starting point for all of Catholic social teaching is the defense of human life and dignity: every human person is created in the image and likeness of God and has an inviolable dignity, value, and worth, regardless of race, gender, class, or other human characteristics. Therefore, both the most wounded victim and the most callous criminal retain their humanity. All are created in the image of God and possess a dignity, value, and worth that must be recognized, promoted, safeguarded, and defended. For this reason, any system of penal justice must provide those necessities that enable inmates to live in dignity: food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, timely medical care, education, and meaningful work adequate to the conditions of human dignity.30 Human dignity is not something we earn by our good behavior; it is something we have as children of God. We believe that because we are all created by God, "none of us is the sum total of the worst act we have ever committed. . . . As a people of faith, we believe that grace can transform even the most hardened and cruel human beings."31 Victims, too, must have the help of the faith community in recovering their dignity. To be excluded from the proceedings against their offenders, to be ignored by friends and family, or to be neglected by the community of faith because their deep pain is unsettling only serves to further isolate victims and denies their dignity. All of us are called to stand with victims in their hurt and in their search for healing and genuine justice. This includes, of course, the children of the incarcerated, who themselves are seriously harmed by their parents' misdeeds. Human Rights and Responsibilities: Our tradition insists that every person has both rights and responsibilities. We have the right to life and to those things that make life human: faith and family, food and shelter, housing and health care, education and safety. We also have responsibilities to ourselves, to our families, and to the broader community. Crime and corrections are at the intersection of rights and responsibilities. Those who commit crimes violate the rights of others and disregard their responsibilities. But the test for the rest of us is whether we will exercise our responsibility to hold the offender accountable without violating his or her basic rights. Even offenders should be treated with respect for their rights. Family, Community, and Participation: We believe the human person is social. Our dignity, rights, and responsibilities are lived out in relationship with others, and primary among these is the family. The disintegration of family life and community has been a major contributor to crime. Supporting and rebuilding family ties should be central to efforts to prevent and respond to crime. Placing prisons in remote areas diminishes contacts with close relatives and undermines the family connections that could aid in restoration, especially for young offenders. Likewise, maintaining community and family connections can help offenders understand the harm they've done and prepare them for reintegration into society. Isolation may be necessary in some rare cases; but while cutting off family contact can make incarceration easier for those in charge, it can make reintegration harder for those in custody. The principle of participation is especially important for victims of crime. Sometimes victims are "used" by the criminal justice system or political interests. As the prosecution builds a case, the victim's hurt and loss can be seen as a tool to obtain convictions and tough sentences. But the victim's need to be heard and to be healed are not really addressed. The Common Good: The social dimension of our teaching leads us to the common good and its relationship to punishment. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, punishment by civil authorities for criminal activity should serve three principal purposes: (1) the preservation and protection of the common good of society, (2) the restoration of public order, and (3) the restoration or conversion of the offender.32 The concept of "redress," or repair of the harm done to the victims and to society by the criminal activity, is also important to restoring the common good. This often neglected dimension of punishment allows victims to move from a place of pain and anger to one of healing and resolution. In our tradition, restoring the balance of rights through restitution is an important element of justice. The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: This principle of Catholic social teaching recognizes that every public policy must be assessed by how it will affect the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society. Sometimes people who lack adequate resources from early in life (i.e., children—especially those who have been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused—the mentally ill, and people who have suffered discrimination) turn to lives of crime in desperation or out of anger or confusion. Unaddressed needs—including proper nutrition, shelter, health care, and protection from abuse and neglect—can be steppingstones on a path towards crime. Our role as Church is to continually work to address these needs through pastoral care, charity, and advocacy. Subsidiarity and Solidarity: These two related principles recognize that human dignity and human rights are fostered in community. Subsidiarity calls for problem-solving initially at the community level: family, neighborhood, city, and state. It is only when problems become too large or the common good is clearly threatened that larger institutions are required to help. This principle encourages communities to be more involved. Criminal activity is largely a local issue and, to the extent possible, should have local solutions. Neighborhood-watch groups, community-oriented policing, school liaison officers, neighborhood treatment centers, and local support for ex-offenders all can be part of confronting crime and fear of crime in local communities. Solidarity recognizes that "we are all really responsible for all."33 Not only are we responsible for the safety and well-being of our family and our next-door neighbor, but Christian solidarity demands that we work for justice beyond our boundaries. Christians are asked to see Jesus in the face of everyone, including both victims and offenders. Through the lens of solidarity, those who commit crimes and are hurt by crime are not issues or problems; they are sisters and brothers, members of one human family. Solidarity calls us to insist on responsibility and seek alternatives that do not simply punish, but rehabilitate, heal, and restore. Policy Foundations and DirectionsIn light of this moral framework, we seek approaches that understand crime as a threat to community, not just a violation of law; that demand new efforts to rebuild lives, not just build more prisons; and that demonstrate a commitment to re-weave a broader social fabric of respect for life, civility, responsibility, and reconciliation. New approaches should be built on the following foundations:
The Church's MissionThe challenge of curbing crime and reshaping the criminal justice system is not just a matter of public policy, but is also a test of Catholic commitment. In the face of so much violence and crime, our faith calls the Church to responsibility and action. A wide variety of Catholic
communities have responded with impressive programs of service and advocacy. In many dioceses, Catholic Charities is reaching out to victims, those in prison and their families, ex-offenders, and others touched by crime and the criminal justice system through counseling, employment and treatment programs, as well as early intervention efforts directed towards families and individuals at risk. Yet more is needed. Our community of faith is called to
ConclusionWe Catholic bishops hope that these modest reflections will stimulate a renewed dialogue among Catholics and other people of good will on issues and actions regarding crime and criminal justice. We encourage and support those called by our community to minister to prisoners and victims and all other people who work directly in the criminal justice system. We suggest that they use these reflections to assess how the system can become less retributive and more restorative. We pray that these words offer some comfort to victims and communities threatened by crime, and challenge all Catholics to become involved in restoring communities to wholeness. We are guided by the paradoxical Catholic teaching on crime and punishment: We will not tolerate the crime and violence that threatens the lives and dignity of our sisters and brothers, and we will not give up on those who have lost their way. We seek both justice and mercy. Working together, we believe our faith calls us to protect public safety, promote the common good, and restore community. We believe a Catholic ethic of responsibility, rehabilitation, and restoration can become the foundation for the necessary reform of our broken criminal justice system. Renewing Our Call to End the Death Penalty The administration of the death penalty is often seen as a major sign of some of the failings within the American criminal justice system. Capital punishment is cruel, unnecessary, and arbitrary; it often has racial overtones;1 and it fails to live up to our deep conviction that all human life is sacred: "Our witness to respect for life shines most brightly when we demand respect for each and every human life, including the lives of those who fail to show that respect for others. The antidote to violence is love, not more violence."2 In this call we add our voices to the prophetic witness of Pope John Paul II—who, when he last came to our nation, appealed for an end to capital punishment: The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform (cf. Evangelium Vitae, no. 27). I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary. We join our appeal to the position of the universal Church. The promulgated text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in conformity with the dignity of the human person. (no. 2267) And we join with those who are working to end the death penalty—in their witness at prisons as people are executed, in state capitals across our land, in courtrooms and prisons around the nation, and in Congress, where efforts to abolish or limit the death penalty are being debated. We support calls for a moratorium on executions and welcome the courage of leaders who have implemented or are working to address the clear failings of the death penalty. We know this is not an easy matter. Catholic teaching has developed over time and there have been diverse views on the application of these principles. However, as we begin this new millennium, Pope John Paul II, the U.S. Catholic bishops, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church3 together express the strong conviction that capital punishment should no longer be used since there are better ways to protect society, and the death penalty diminishes respect for human life. We are encouraged by small but growing signs that support for the death penalty is eroding and that capital punishment is being reconsidered. People are asking if we are really safer in states where executions are so regular that they hardly rate news coverage. People are asking whether we can be sure that those who are executed are truly guilty, given the evidence of wrongful convictions and poor representation in death penalty cases. We welcome legislation to address these issues as a way to focus on the unfairness of the death penalty. But most of all, we are asking whether we can teach that killing is wrong by killing those who have been convicted of killing others. It is time to abandon the death penalty—not just because of what it does to those who are executed, but because of how it diminishes all of us. We cannot overcome what Pope John Paul II called a "culture of death," we cannot reverse what we have called a "culture of violence," and we cannot build a "culture of life" by state-sanctioned killing. As we said before and renew today: We cannot overcome crime by simply executing criminals, nor can we restore the lives of the innocent by ending the lives of those convicted of their murders. The death penalty offers the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life.4 We ask all Catholics—pastors, catechists, educators, and parishioners—to join us in rethinking this difficult issue and committing ourselves to pursuing justice without vengeance. With our Holy Father, we seek to build a society so committed to human life that it will not sanction the killing of any human person. Notes
Appendix Suggestions for ActionThe Catholic community has a tremendous history and capacity to help shape the issues of crime and criminal justice in the United States. Few organizations do more to prevent crime or heal its effects than the Catholic Church. Through many committed individual Catholics, prison ministry programs, parish outreach efforts, Catholic schools, diocesan peace and justice offices, community organizing projects, ex-offender reintegration programs, family counseling, drug and alcohol recovery programs, and charitable services to low-income people, the Catholic community responds to criminal justice concerns in a wide variety of ways. But we can do more. This list of suggestions and resources is by no means exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to give individual Catholics, parishes, and dioceses some directions about programs and policies that reflect Catholic principles and values as we work together to implement this statement. Teach
Right from Wrong, Respect for Life, Forgiveness and Mercy Respect for human life—the cornerstone of Catholic social teaching—is a key to our work in criminal justice because we believe that the current culture of violence contributes to crime. We bishops urge Catholics to work against the violence of abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. We call for renewed efforts to abolish the death penalty. In addition, Catholics must work to ensure that everyone has access to those things that enhance life and dignity: decent housing, a job with a living wage, and health care. Catholics can
Stand With Victims and Their Families
Reach Out to Offenders and Their Families
Build Community
Advocate Policies That Offer Real Alternatives to Crime State Catholic conferences, diocesan offices (e.g., pro-life, education, and social concerns), and parish legislative advocacy networks can help individual Catholics to support public policies that reflect our values. Catholics can
Organize Diocesan Consultations
Msgr. Dennis M. Schnurr, General Secretary, NCCB/USCC |