149 North Warren Street · Trenton,
New Jersey 08608
(609) 989-1120 · Fax (609) 989-1152
E-mail: info@njcathconf.com
Web:
www.njcathconf.com
William
F. Bolan, Jr., J.D.
Executive Director
December
15, 2005
STATEMENT
IN SUPPORT OF S-709
The New Jersey Catholic Conference
supports S-709, which would place a moratorium on executions in New
Jersey and study New Jersey’s death penalty. As the Catholic Bishops of New
Jersey have consistently stated:
As death row
inmates exhaust their appeals and the possibility of execution draws near, we,
the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey, wish to reiterate our opposition to the
death penalty. We are guided by our belief that every person has an
inalienable right to life, because each human being is made in the image and
likeness of God, who alone is the absolute Lord of life from its beginning
until its end (cf. The Book of Genesis 1:26-28).
We acknowledge
that the subject of capital punishment is controversial and emotional.
All murders are violent and shocking; some are savage. They all stir
emotions of revulsion and anger. We grieve for the victims of murder, for
the brutalization and loss of life. We commiserate with the families and
friends of victims who must suffer with their loss through the years. We
affirm that the state has the duty to punish criminals and to prevent the
repetition or occurrence of crime. We believe that greater efforts must
be made to bring the criminal to repentance and rehabilitation. We
believe that our society is sufficiently developed to protect itself and to
redress the injustice caused by the criminal without resorting to the use of
the death penalty. One alternative is life without possibility of parole.
The Catechism
of the Catholic Church acknowledges the right of public authorities to
impose criminal punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense, “if
this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the
unjust aggressor. 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 keeping with the concrete
conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human
person.” Pope John Paul II has stated that in today’s world cases in
which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if
not practically non-existent.” (The Gospel of Life,56)
Because the State
of New Jersey has other means to redress the injustice caused by crime and to
effectively prevent crime by rendering the one who has committed the offense
incapable of doing harm and because we recognize the dignity of all human life,
we continue to consistently and vigorously oppose the use of capital
punishment. We recognize the continued need for improvement of our
criminal justice system and for a greater societal commitment to crime
prevention and victim assistance. As pastors and teachers we urge the
State of New Jersey not to impose the death penalty in our state.
Representing the Archdiocese of
Newark, Diocese of Camden, Diocese of Metuchen,
Diocese of
Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac
Catholic Diocese