Evansville Catholic Diocese
(812) 424-5536
4200 N. Kentucky Ave
Evansville, IN 47711
  • Home
  • Departments
    • Bishop's Office >
      • Catholic Parishes Campaign Message
    • Vicar General
    • Activities & Facilities >
      • Catholic Center Meeting Rooms
      • Sarto Retreat Center
    • Catechesis >
      • Parish Catechetical Leader Formation
      • Parish Catechetical Leader Handbook >
        • Creating a Catechist Handbook
      • Catechist Formation >
        • Formation Day
        • VLCFF Program
      • Ministry with Persons with Disabilities >
        • About
        • SPRED
        • Resources
        • Disabilities
      • Curriculum
      • Resources
      • RCIA Resources
    • Catholic Charities
    • Chancellor
    • Communications >
      • The Message Website
    • Family Life >
      • Capital Punishment
      • Courage
      • Divorce Prevention and Support
      • Environmental Stewardship
      • Infertility Resources
      • Faithful Citizenship
      • Healthcare
      • Marriage Preparation
      • Miscarriage Resources
      • Natural Family Planning
      • Over 55
      • Project Rachel
      • Respect Life
      • The Rosary
      • Walking with Moms in Need
    • Finance Office >
      • Forms & Documents
    • Ministerio Hispano/ Hispanic Ministry >
      • Noticias y Eventos / News and Events
      • Ambiente Seguro/Safe Environment
      • V Encuentro
      • Nuestra Mision y Peronal/ Our Mission and Staff
      • Servicios/Services
      • Inmigracion/Immigration
      • Sacramentos/Sacraments
      • Tradiciones Latinoamericanas/ Latin American Traditions
      • Ministerios/Ministries
      • Formacion de Fe/Faith Formation
    • Permanent Diaconate >
      • Role & Function of the Deacon
      • Want to Become a Deacon?
      • Formation Program & Schedule
    • Stewardship >
      • Events
      • Stewardship Resources for Parishes
      • Impact Report
      • Brute Society
      • Deo Gratias Society
      • Catholic Parishes Campaign
    • Tribunal
    • Vocations
    • Worship >
      • Consecration
      • Newsletter
      • Policies & Guidelines
      • Liturgical Calendar
      • Mass
      • Sacraments
      • RCIA
      • Liturgical Music
      • Events
      • Contact
    • Youth & Young Adult >
      • Young Adult Ministry
      • OYAYA Calendar & News
      • Diocesan Forms for OYAYA
      • National Catholic Youth Conference
      • March for Life
      • World Youth Day
      • Alive in the Spirit
      • Boy Scouts
      • Girl Scouts
      • TEC
      • Source + Summit
      • Scholarship Information
  • Directories
  • Safe Environment
    • Credible Allegations
    • Message from Bishop Siegel
    • Report and Inform
  • Employment Opportunities
  • Links & Resources
  • About Us
    • Previous Bishops
    • History of the Diocese
    • Old Cathedral Library & Museum
  • Contact Us
  • Report and Inform
  • Media
    • News
    • Media Inquiries
  • Mass Times Map
  • Parishes Map
  • Schools Map
  • Catholic Schools
    • Information for Prospective Families
    • Accreditation
    • Exceptional Children Programs
    • Marketing & Development
    • Mission & Vision
    • Professional Development
    • School Council/President's Council
    • School Employment Opportunities
    • Administrative Handbook for Schools
    • Schools Information
    • Standards
    • Tuition Assistance
    • Wellness
    • Contact Us
  • DONATE NOW
  • 2016 Pastoral Letter
  • Bulletin Board Events
  • C2ND Landing Page
  • Synod
  • MyDio
  • Eucharistic Renewal
BACK TO F&L HOME

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT


Capital Punishment:  Punishment by death : the practice of killing people as punishment for serious crimes
-Merriam-Webster

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have the most need of Your mercy. -Fatima prayer

Picture
Excerpts from Bishop Siegel:

Bishop Joseph M. Siegel:  “I join with Archbishop Thompson and others across Indiana, the nation and the world in praying for the families of the victims, who have suffered immeasurable pain and heartbreak as a result of these heinous crimes. As a Church and as a society, we are called to stand in solidarity with them and provide whatever support we can to assist them.”

​Bishop Siegel continued, “I also join with Archbishop Thompson in reaffirming that our Catholic faith calls us to respect the dignity of all human life and every person, without exception, from conception until natural death. For this reason, as the Archbishop notes, Pope Francis has revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church, calling the death penalty ‘inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person’ (CCC 2267). Therefore, we strongly urge President Trump and Attorney General Barr to rescind the decision to resume federal executions on July 13 and to commute those sentences to life imprisonment.”

Picture

Picture

INDIANA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
​October 4, 2019

Indiana bishops call for renewed moratorium on federal executions 

(Editor’s note: In response to the federal government’s recent decision to end a moratorium on executing federal inmates, the bishops of Indiana have issued the following statement.)

The federal government’s decision in July to end a 16-year moratorium on executing federal inmates is regrettable, unnecessary and morally unjustified.

As we observe Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church, we, the Bishops of Indiana, in as much as federal executions are conducted in our State, ask President Donald J. Trump to rescind the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to resume capital punishment later this year. We respectfully implore that the sentences of all federal death-row inmates be commuted to life imprisonment.

In seeking to end the use of the death penalty, we do not dismiss the evil and harm caused by people who commit horrible crimes, especially murder. We share in the sorrow and loss of families and victims of such crimes. And we call upon our faith community and all persons of good will to stand with the victims and to provide spiritual, pastoral and personal support.
All life is a gift from God and each life has dignity. As recently confirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” (#2267).

Capital punishment undermines the dignity of human life. Taking human life is justifiable only in self-defense, when there is no other way to protect oneself, another innocent person or society from extreme violence or death. In the case of incarcerated prisoners, the aggressor has been stopped and society is protected. Hence, it is no longer permissible to take the life.

In addition to the moral problems with capital punishment, it continues the cycle of violence; it neither helps the victims who survive, nor does it mitigate the loss of a loved one. And it precludes the possibility of reconciliation and rehabilitation. As Pope Francis has stated, “A just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”

The application of capital punishment also calls for its discontinuance. The problems are well documented. These include: Its unequal application to minorities, the poor and mentally ill; its cost, which is more expensive than a lifetime of incarceration; the more than 160 persons since 1977 serving time on death row who have been exonerated of their guilt; and the instances of innocent people being wrongly executed. Moreover, its application also impacts those who are associated with it, particularly correctional officers and those who are obligated to participate in taking a human life. The psychological and spiritual harm that these persons experience is real.

We join our brother bishops of the United States in calling for an end to the death penalty. Twenty-five states no longer use it as a form of punishment. We ask the federal government to continue its moratorium until it can be rescinded formally as a matter of law.

—Most Reverend Charles C. Thompson, D.D., J.C.L., Archdiocese of Indianapolis
—Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, D.D., Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
—Most Reverend Timothy L Doherty, S.T.L., Ph.D., Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana
—Most Reverend Joseph M Siegel, D.D., S.T.L., Diocese of Evansville
—Reverend Michael J. Yadron, Diocesan Administrator, Diocese of Gary
Throughout this website, the Catholic Diocese of Evansville provides links to other websites solely for the convenience of our users.  By providing these links, the Catholic Diocese of Evansville assumes no responsibility for, nor does it necessarily endorse, these websites, their content, or their sponsoring organizations.
© Copyright 2022  |  Catholic Diocese of Evansville  |  4200 N. Kentucky Avenue  |  Evansville, IN 47711  |  (812) 424-5536