Mahony Reminds Catholics That Church Opposes Death Penalty

In response to the scheduling of California’s first execution in 25 years, Cardinal Roger Mahony on Wednesday reminded Roman Catholics of their church’s opposition to capital punishment.

The death penalty “is a continuation of the violence and gross disrespect for human life that began with the original criminal act,” Mahony wrote in a statement published in the Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

If Robert Alton Harris is executed as scheduled April 21, “the floodgates will soon open and many more will follow,” Mahony wrote.

The cardinal said he recognized that an overwhelming majority of Californians “and even Catholics” support the death penalty. But he noted that U.S. Catholic bishops first took a stand against the death penalty in 1980. California bishops reaffirmed that decision in 1985 and 1989.

“We are certainly not endorsing any policy which would release violent and ruthless criminals back into our communities,” Mahony wrote. “But here in California, we now have available as a better alternative (a sentence of) life in prison without the possibility of parole.”