Peace and Justice

Justice, Peace and Sustainability Weekly Announcement

Aug. 16, 2018

We, the IHM congregation, oppose the Death Penalty. The Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching impel us to do so.”

-IHM Congregational Stance on the Death Penalty

Pope Francis: “The Death Penalty is Inadmissible”

Building on the development of Catholic Social Teaching against capital punishment, Pope Francis ordered a revision of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and to commit the Church to working toward its abolition worldwide. To read more about this decision click here.

Texas is ground zero for the death penalty in the United States, having executed more people than any other state. Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, is a Catholic who has previously claimed that “Catholic doctrine is not against the death penalty, and so there is no conflict there.”

Click here to sign a petition that reads,

“We stand with Pope Francis against the death penalty. As Christians, we call on Governor Abbott to immediately halt the executions of the 225 people on death row in Texas.”

Did You Know ...?

In 2004, the IHM Motherhouse joined “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” a national initiative in which religious organizations throughout the country toll their bells whenever there is an execution in the United States.

On the last Wednesday of each month, prior to Mass in the Motherhouse Chapel, a bell is rung once for each person executed during the previous month. The names of the executed and their victims are read aloud, followed by a moment of silence. Click here to read more. If you are interested in occasionally volunteering to ring the bell and/or read the names at the monthly commemoration, email Sarah Nash in the IHM Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office or call 734-240-9691.

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- IHM Congregational Stance on the Death Penalty