Catholics, Jews Join to Fight Death Penalty

Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders will jointly launch a national campaign today to abolish the death penalty, in an effort to reignite what they see as a largely forgotten but urgent crusade.

By uniting their efforts, the nation’s Catholic bishops and reform and conservative rabbis hope to turn a sectarian concern of limited public interest into a cause comparable to that against abortion, as they vow together to lobby statehouses, activate local and national protest groups and teach what they consider irrefutable biblical truth in churches and schools.

At a time in which consistently 70% to 80% of Americans say they support capital punishment--viewing it as just, fair and a deterrent to crime--the campaign by the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation is meant to remind Americans and their political leaders who support capital punishment of the moral dimension of taking a human life.

“It sends a powerful message,” said Mark Pelavin, who represented Reform Judaism in the group--which includes the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Synagogues.

“Too much discussion of the death penalty is allowed to be about case law and numbers and statistics. As religious communities, we want to remind policymakers that the taking of a human life is a moral issue,” Pelavin said.

Jewish and Catholic leaders have opposed the death penalty at least since the 1960s. But the renewed urgency was inspired by Pope John Paul II. During his January visit to St. Louis, the pontiff chastised Americans for selectively ignoring the sanctity of human life.