South Carolina Catholic Conference speaks out against the death penalty

 

South Carolina Catholic Conference director, Michael Acquilano, released the following statement regarding the S.C. Senate's passage of S.120:

"The Catholic Conference is deeply disturbed by the Senate's passage of S. 120 yesterday — a bill which removes all state licensing processes and conditions for drugs intended for the use of capital punishment. This bill subjects individuals to receive unlicensed, untested and unauthorized chemicals. It is egregiously inhumane, and it perpetuates a culture of death and injustice.

"The death penalty is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the human person. God is both perfectly merciful and just, because he is the author of life and the conqueror of death. Only the Lord knows the innermost thoughts of the human heart, and no sin is a barrier to God's immense love for each of us. Nothing can ever diminish nor separate any person from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  
 
"Respect for life is, and must remain, unconditional. When the state, in our names and with our taxes, ends a human life — despite having non-lethal alternatives to prevent the recommission of crime — our society attempts to overcome violence with more violence. Vengeance is not a just solution.
 
"For this reason, the Catholic Church is committed to its restorative justice ministry in South Carolina. While the bill was passing through the Senate earlier this week, Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, Bishop of Charleston, spent time visiting inmates on death row to administer sacraments and ashes for Ash Wednesday, to speak with them and bless them.
 
"As Christians, we are called to be unconditionally in support of life. It is our responsibility to defend its inherent value. The Catholic Conference calls upon the S.C. House, to vote against S. 120, and to stand for the inalienable right to life for all people, born and unborn."