Members of the priests' association add their voice to the voice of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“This is a time to teach clearly, encourage reflection, and call for common action in the Catholic community to bring about an end to the use of the death penalty in our land.
“ . . . We reaffirm our common judgment that the use of the death penalty is unnecessary and unjustified in our time and circumstances.
• The sanction of death, when it is not necessary to protect society, violates respect for human life and dignity.
• State-sanctioned killing in our names diminishes all of us.
• Its application is deeply flawed and can be irreversibly wrong, is prone to errors, and is biased by factors such as race, the quality of legal representation, and where the crime was committed.
• We have other ways to punish criminals and protect society.
“ . . . We renew our common conviction that it is time for our nation to abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life. Ending the use of the death penalty would be one important step away from a culture of death toward building a culture of life.
The largest association of Catholic priests in the United States is adding its support to the position taken by a group of about 40 faith communities and the Washington Interreligious Staff Community regarding health care.
The 10 priorities include preserving coverage gains made by the ACA, preserving funding for Medicaid expansion, reasonable revenue in the federal budget to pay for health care for all, ensuring that insurance premiums and cost sharing are affordable, access to essential services including mental health and pre-natal care, coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, continuing children under 26 to be covered by their parents’ insurance, insurance without annual or lifetime caps, and preventing insurance companies from discriminating against women, the elderly and people in poverty.