Today, October 10, is World Day Against the Death Penalty, an annual day when advocates around the world call for the end of the death penalty. The Catholic Mobilizing Network, located in Washington D.C., states that the death penalty is “a critical issue that undermines the sacred dignity of life.”
Respect Life Month is recognized by the Church in the United States in October. In addition to advocation of the right to life for babies in the womb, the USCCB broadens the month to include "every human life."
As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable, from the beginning to the end of their lives, and at every point in between. During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life.”
The Catholic Mobilizing Network is hosting national and local events throughout October that emphasize capital punishment as a pro-life issue. On their website, they quote Bishop Michael Burbidge, the Bishop of Arlington, Virginia, who says,
All of human life is sacred. The right to life is absolutely fundamental. No one has a right to directly take the life of another. No one has a right to devalue another. No one has a right to say which lives are worth saving, worth living, and which lives are not.
“We are faced at this moment with the challenging reality of eight state executions scheduled in the month of October alone,” says Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Executive Director of CMN. “It is especially sobering that one of these executions is set to take place on the World Day Against the Death Penalty in Indiana.”
“We work diligently and tirelessly to stop these acts of state-sanctioned death. Even amid this challenge, we do not give up hope. And these events happening this week remind us that throughout the United States, people are dissatisfied with the death penalty. It does not promote safety. It does not deter crime. And it disregards the dignity of human life,” Vaillancourt Murphy continues.
How to act
CMN not only educates people about the death penalty, they invite Catholics to take concrete action. On their website, they provide information on upcoming executions and provide accessible online forms to petition governors to do everything in their power to stop the pending execution.
Public opposition to the death penalty has grown in recent decades; only 53% of Americans support it, which is the lowest percentage since the 1970s. It is also a moral issue that Pope Leo XIV has already spoken out against. He recently said,
As I myself have spoken in the past, it’s important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church. Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life.
… The church teaching …is very clear.
“I pray that the occasion of World Day Against the Death Penalty during Respect Life Month, and especially within the special celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope, will invigorate Catholics to lift our voices in opposition to these state executions and this blatant display of a culture of death. I pray that instead, we do our part to usher in hope-filled justice solutions that prioritize healing, accountability, and repair,” says Vaillancourt Murphy.
