As Connecticut pre­pares to car­ry out its first exe­cu­tion in over 40 years, Catholic Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford called on local parish­es to sign a Church peti­tion that calls for an end to cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. The death penal­ty offers the trag­ic illu­sion that we can defend life only by tak­ing life,” Mansell wrote in a let­ter that will be read dur­ing Masses on January 8 and 9. Other bish­ops in Connecticut are tak­ing sim­i­lar actions pri­or to the sched­uled exe­cu­tion of Michael Ross on January 26.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a com­plete rejec­tion of the death penal­ty, in accor­dance with Catholic teach­ing to uphold the human dig­ni­ty of all per­sons. Archbishop Mansell is part of a broad spec­trum of reli­gious lead­ers and groups seek­ing to halt exe­cu­tions in the state. Many of these lead­ers will hold a press con­fer­ence pub­licly call­ing for the abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty on January 12 on the state Capitol steps. (Hartford Courant, January 6, 2005). See Statements from Religious Organizations and New Voices.

Citation Guide