The Seamless Garment and Capital Punishment

On March 21, 2005 the bishops of the United States formally launched the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. At this event, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick , Archbishop of Washington and member of the bishops’ Committee on Domestic Policy, Mr. John Zogby , President of Zogby International Polling organization, Mr. Bud Welch , father of an Oklahoma City Bombing victim, and Mr. Kirk Bloodsworth, wrongfully convicted death row inmate.

While the U.S. Catholic bishops have been calling for an end to the use of the death penalty for 25 years, this new Campaign was launched in March of 2005. The first comprehensive U.S. Catholic bishops’ statement on the topic was issued in 1980. In this campaign, the bishops renew their call in order to seize a new moment and a new momentum. This is a time to teach clearly, encourage reflection, and call for common action in the Catholic community. To that end the bishops have written a new pastoral statement that will clarify Church teaching and assist the numerous individual bishops and state Catholic conferences have issued similar calls to end the use of the death penalty.

For more information on Capital Punishment, consult the following:

Some Facts About the Death Penalty

What You Can Do

Statements by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Vatican, The Holy Father and the Death Penalty

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