3025 4th Street, NE
CATHOLIC Washington, DC 20017
MOBILIZING
NETWORK PHONE(202) 541-5290
TO END THE USE GEMAIL PRi catholicsmobilizing.org
THE DEATH PENAWERSITE Catholicstiobilizing.org
April 4, 2014
[NAME]
[DIOCESE]
[ADDRESS]
(CITY, STATE, ZIP]
Dear [NAME AND TITLE],
As we approach the Triduum and will commemorate the public execution of our
Lord, we are reminded that on Good Friday fifteen years ago, the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for all Catholics to work to end the
use of the death penalty. Since that Good Friday Appeal in 1999, the Church has
been a vital part of the movement to end capital punishment; and progress has been
made.
But much more remains to be done to answer the USCCB’s call. Thirty-two states
and the federal government still retain the death penalty, over three thousand men
and women await execution, and already this year, twelve men have been put to
death in our country. Many more executions are scheduled. It is in this context, we
want to share with you the work of the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use
of the Death Penalty (CMN), a lay collaborative of the USCCB and our partner in the
shared ministry to promote the life and dignity of all people.
CMN proclaims the Church’s unconditional pro-life teaching and its application to
capital punishment and restorative justice. In just this past year, CMN published
Where Justice and Mercy Meet: Catholic Opposition to the Death Penalty, now one of
Liturgical Press’ top-selling books, hosted a national conference on the death
penalty at the Catholic University of America, and began development of a graduate-
level life issues course for deacons. As in years past, CMN also presented numerous
workshops to assist dioceses involved in state campaign efforts, developed dozens
of effective educational resources that are distributed freely to English and Spanish
speaking Catholic communities. Such presentation and materials are the lifeblood of
effective grassroots state campaign efforts.
We strongly believe in CMN and accordingly contributed our resources to help it
establish financial sustainability and carry out its vital ministry. We encourage and
invite the Provincial Archbishops to join us in supporting CMN for 2014 and beyond
by pledging to donate from your discretionary funds at least $5,000 to signal the
Bishop’s recommitment to the Bishop's Campaign to End the Use of the Death
Penalty until this practice is ended. The enclosed reply card is provided for that
purpose.
To love and live in mercy as Jesus did is the heart of the Gospel message. Pope
Francis said in September of last year, “I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every
person’s life... Although the life of a person is a land full of thorns and weeds, there is
always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.” We are
thankful for the grace that allows us to trust in God’s mercy.
Fraternally in Christ,
/
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Karen Clifton
Executive Director, CMN
Sean Cardinal O’Malley OFM Cap
Archbishop of Boston
Din Magee
Archbishop Wilton Gregory
Archbishop of Atlanta
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Bishop Denis Madden
Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore
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Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza
Archbishop Emeritus of Galveston-
Houston & CMN Episcopal Moderator
Theodore Cardinal McCarrick
Archbishop Emeritus of Washington
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz
Archbishop of Louisville
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