St. James Parish in Davis and St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Sacramento have recently adopted formal statements against capital punishment and are encouraging other faith communities to follow their lead.

Pope John Paul II’s strong opposition to the death penalty, as reflected in his 1995 encyclical, “The Gospel of Life,” inspired both parish statements.

The statements also echo the view of the U.S. bishops, who in their 1998 pastoral letter, “Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics,” stated that cases in which capital punishment is justified are “very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”

“Our parish came together in a consensus favoring abolishment of the death penalty as a kind of witness not only to other parishes but all faiths,” according to Priscilla High, who chairs the Gospel Justice Committee at St. James.

Publication by the parish of “A Statement on the Death Penalty,” she said, was done as a collaborative effort “from the bottom up” by parishioners.

Over the past two years, parishioners have expressed their views on capital punishment at four public meetings. A series of informative articles on the subject was also published in the parish newsletter.

The statement affirms that “all human life is sacred” and that “the sacredness of every person, no matter how evil his or her actions, is open to conversion, repentance, reform and rehabilitation.”

Father Daniel Looney, St. James pastor, said that people of all perspectives were invited to participate in group discussions and in preparation of the death penalty statement.

He said that while national polls still indicate that a majority of Catholics and non-Catholics support capital punishment, there seemed to be no significant “voices of dissent” on the issue within the parish.

Led by the Gospel Justice Committee, St. James parishioners are taking action on several fronts to inspire others in their community, diocese and state to follow their lead. During Masses, victims and those facing execution are remembered in the Prayers of the Faithful. A commitment has also been made to incorporate church teaching on the death penalty in religious education materials and in homilies.

“The death penalty will be woven in when appropriate, so that the issue will be kept before the people,” Father Looney noted.

In Davis plans are also in the works for a citywide forum on the death penalty to be held in the next few months.

At the state level, members of Gospel Justice Committee are planning to lobby members of the Legislature to adopt a death penalty moratorium, as the state of Illinois did recently.

St. Ignatius parishioners began coming together a year ago to draft a public statement in opposition to capital punishment. A series of educational messages about the issue appeared in the parish bulletin and three parish listening sessions were conducted on the death penalty.

Jesuit Father Gerald Robinson, pastor, said parishioners drafted a “Parish Resolution Against the Death Penalty” in the spring of this year.

“The resolution finds its roots in our deep respect for human life,” Father Robinson said. “The Holy Spirit has moved us to reflect and now to speak.”

The statement affirms “belief in God as author of all life, in the dignity of each person from the moment of conception, in love as the antidote to violence, in reconciliation, and in restorative justice.”

Bernard Waxstein, a member of the parish’s Social Justice Committee, led a listening session addressing the moral issues associated with capital punishment and assisted in drafting the parish statement.

“We wanted to educate people…to change the hearts and minds of Catholics within the diocese,” he said, “to recognize that opposition to the death penalty is part of the seamless garment of life.”

Waxstein said that over a year’s time, in his view, opinions on the issue changed.

“There is no question we made a lot of converts,” he noted. “We changed a lot of minds.”

The St. Ignatius resolution was mailed to more than 500 people, including President Bush, Gov. Gray Davis, members of federal and state legislatures, as well as all parishes and Catholic high schools in the diocese, and selected churches, synagogues and mosques in the Sacramento area.

Father Robinson said publication of the death penalty statement has brought renewed dedication to parishioners’ support of candlelight vigils on the eve of executions. It also comes with a commitment to oppose the death penalty in the state and nation, and for prayers for and support of victims of crime and their families, offenders and their families and members of the criminal justice system.

Deacon Bill Souza, director of social justice ministry for the diocese, said the two parish statements opposing capital punishment should “start a lot of people thinking.”

“We hope to try to introduce similar statements in every parish,” he said.

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