Catholic Church Urges Texas to End Executions

The Roman Catholic Church, shocked by a record number of executions in Texas this year, urged the state Monday to abandon the death penalty.

All 21 of the state’s Catholic bishops said in a statement the state was “usurping the sovereign dominion of God over human life” and thereby contributing to “a climate of violence.”

“We sympathize with the profound pain of the victims of brutal crimes. Nevertheless, we believe that the compassionate example of Christ calls us to respect the God-given image found even in hardened criminals,” they said.

The bishops said life imprisonment without parole should be the maximum punishment meted out.

So far in 1997, 31 men have been executed in Texas, the highest number in the state’s history and by far the most in the United States.

A spokeswoman for Gov. George W. Bush, a death penalty supporter, gave no indication the church’s statement had changed his mind. “Texas law says that those convicted of the most horrible crimes are subject to the death penalty, and Gov. Bush is committed to upholding the law of Texas.”