Christians against the death penalty
Leaflet : Christians against the death penalty
Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) was set up
in France in 1974.
Since 1982 it has extended its mandate to include abolition of the
death penalty.
Today the International Federation of ACATs, FIACAT, comprises thirty
organisations worldwide. Each group tries to heighten the awareness
of the Christian community in its country, and public opinion in
general, about the death penalty.
It does this by organising debates, setting up discussions in
schools, offering a helping hand to those sentenced to death and by
requesting pardons for those people from the authorities.
The ACAT network also works with countries that are not in favour of
abolishing the death penalty and encourages them to change their
minds on the issue and then ratify the relevant international
instruments.
FIACAT is an active member of the World Coalition against the Death
Penalty and works on a regional and international level towards
greater adoption of legal instruments and further commitments by
countries on the matter.
International texts prohibiting the death penalty
FIACAT is trying to persuade the Vatican authorities officially to
condemn the death penalty on the basis that it infringes a person's
right to life.
FIACAT, founding member of the World Coalition against the Death
Penalty and member of its Steering Committee.
The Coalition, created in May 2002, aims to reinforce the
international dimension of the fight against capital punishment, and
to contribute everywhere it exists, to the reduction and, better
still, to the definitive abolition of death sentences and executions.
The Coalition was given the mission to facilitate the constitution
and the development of national coalitions against the death penalty,
to take actions such as lobbying in international organizations and
countries, and to organize events of international significance. The
Coalition has declared October 10th World Day against the Death
Penalty. http://www.worldcoalition.org
Against the death penalty : killing to show that killing is wrong ?
The death penalty violates the most fundamental human right, that to
life, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
is the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
The years that some detainees spend on death row can also constitute
a kind of torture, universally prohibited by the 1984 Convention
against Torture.
Today, the general trend in the world is towards abolition.
Argumentation against the death penalty
January 2001
Against the death penalty : killing to show that killing is wrong ?
The death penalty violates the most fundamental human right, that to
life, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
is the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
The years that some detainees spend on death row can also constitute
a kind of torture, universally prohibited by the 1984 Convention
against Torture.
Today, the general trend in the world is towards abolition.
(...)
Principal statements from the World Council of Churches concerning
the death penalty
January 2001
Principal statements from the World Council of Churches concerning
the death penalty
Statement on the death penalty, WCC Central Committee, March 1990
"Concerned about the increasing use of the death penalty in many
parts of the world,
Recognizing that all human beings created in God's image have
inherent dignity and are of infinite worth, and that the taking of
human life by the state is against the will of God,
Recognizing that the institutionalized taking of human life (...)
Position of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
January 2001
Position of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
1997 edition
No. 2267 :
Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have
been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does
not exclude recourse to the death penalty, 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
(...)
The Holy See takes a stance against the death penalty
January 2001
The Holy See takes a stance against the death penalty
Pope John Paul II has repeatedly declared his opposition to capital
punishment and called on 'urgent and tailored measures' to be found
to 'ban the death penalty', which he considers 'cruel and
unnecessary'.
The text below sets out perfectly the Holy See's position on this
matter.
Intervention by H.E. Archbishop Renato Raffaele Martino, Apostolic
Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations,
before the Third (...)
Happy the man
January 2001
Happy the man
Happy the man who does not judge those who have been found guilty,
who never rejoices that he has been clever enough not to get caught.
Happy the man who hates neither the rapist nor the murderer, for he
knows that no-one is born that way.
Happy the man who knows the address of the town prison and who
refuses to think that those inside should stay there and rot.
Happy the man who thinks that the last muscle (...)
In my name
January 2001
In my name
Who has the right to decide if a man should live or die ? Who can
look into the depths of a man's conscience ? Guilty or innocent ? A
monster ? An object of pity ?
Violent with the violence that infects our societies. Violent with
the violence that we want to use on him. Will his blood redeem our
sins ?
He will die in our name because the hideousness of his crime (are we
sure he really did it ?) horrifies us and makes us look (...)
Jesus is condemned to death
January 2001
Jesus is condemned to death
As for Jesus, after having him scourged, Pilate handed him over to be
crucified.
(Matthew 27, 26)
A victim is required to satisfy the crowd's fury. A 'king' is
required to control the political unrest. The victim's fate is
decided by the toss of a coin to howls of abuse from the crowd. Jesus
Barabbas (the 'son of his father') is set free. Jesus of Nazareth,
who calls himself 'Son of the Father', is handed over to Pilate (...)
Peace to all men
January 2001
Peace to all men
Peace to all men of ill will ! May all vengeance and all calls for
punishment cease. Crime figures are soaring out of control, there are
too many martyrs
Lord, do not weigh their suffering on your scales of justice or
record the torturers' terrible debt. Let all debts be settled in a
different way.
Credit the torturers, informers, traitors and all men of ill will
with the courage and spiritual strength of others, their humility,
dignity, their constant internal (...)
Remember the men of ill will
January 2001
Remember the men of ill will
Lord, when you come in glory, do not remember only the men of good
will ;
remember also the men of ill will.
But do not remember the cruelty, the ill-treatment and the violence
they meted out. Remember the fruits we bore as a result of what they
did. Remember the patience of some, the courage of others, the
fellowship, humility, generosity of spirit and faithfulness which
they brought forth in (...)
Hear the cries which pierce the night
January 2001
Hear the cries which pierce the night
Why do you torture me ? Lord, open our hearts to the humiliated,
bruised prisoner, the raw flesh which cries out so as not to deny his
struggle for the truth.
Why do you condemn me to death ? Lord, open our hearts to the
prisoner whose guilt has long been expiated in the sinister corridors
of death.
Why do you target me ? Lord, open our hearts to the street-child, the
orphan whose refuge is the (...)
Protecting sparks of life
January 2001
Protecting sparks of life
Lord, you see those who have been condemned to death riddled with
bullets or seated on the electric chair. Sometimes we kill innocent
people We assassinate sons of men We destroy hope by refusing them
justice and forgiveness
You see them, Lord, those executioners who kill out of hatred,
vengeance or because it is their job to kill Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do Every time someone is condemned to (...)
Death itself trembles
January 2001
Death itself trembles
They caught him in a forest And tied him to a tree He closed his eyes
gently As though he were sleeping
A cold wind gets up 'Death itself trembles' And in a colourless voice
Tells of the blood which flows
Kneeling opposite him They fired The bullets which lodged In a broken
heart
A cold wind gets up 'Death itself trembles' And in a colourless voice
Tells of the blood which flows
A dove came to (...)
Do not be afraid !
January 2001
Do not be afraid !
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, Do not be afraid of
those who set traps, Do not be afraid of those who speak ill of you
nor of those who carry swords
Do not be afraid of those who twist
everything so as not to allow justice to triumph. Be afraid only of
being afraid, like those who lie to survive.
Do not be afraid of those who threaten you with death or defamation.
Do not be afraid of the powerful men passing (...)
When dead children speak
January 2001
When dead children speak
I feel obliged to begin with the children. It is sometimes difficult
to answer their questions. And even more difficult those put by dead
children. I do not know who can answer them. I do not know who can
claim the right to do so.
The first dead child asks : 'They said I was dangerous and I dared to
face up to them. So why did I end up with a bullet in my back ?'
And the second child asks : 'They said they were firing in the (...)
Prayer of faith and hope
January 2001
Prayer of faith and hope
Love has taken the liberty of flouting decorum and looked after the
stranger. Love has taken the liberty of leaving the faithful sheep to
seek the one which has strayed. Love has taken the liberty of waiting
for the prodigal son, and inviting us to celebrate his return. Love
has taken the liberty.
Love erases the past. No-one dared cast the stone, and all eyes were
lowered. Love erases the past, (...)
Bible references
January 2001
Bible references
"What have you done ? Listen to the sound of your brother's blood,
crying out to me from the ground." (Genesis 4, 10 - Cain and Abel)
"You shall not kill." (Exodus 20, 13)
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ? Why are you so far from
saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning ? 2. O my God, I cry out by day,
but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One ; you (...)
Extracts from Bud Welch's story, published in ACAT Courrier
January 2001
Extracts from Bud Welch's story, published in ACAT Courrier
November 1999
"My only daughter, Julie, 23 years old and just out of Wisconsin
University with a Spanish degree, had recently begun working as a
translator for the Oklahoma City Social Services Department when she
was killed on 19 April 1995. I had always been opposed to the death
penalty, as had my parents and grandparents.
And I would like to explain how my initial feelings of revenge and
terrible rage turned into (...)
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