[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 3



AUSTRALIA:

Catholic bishops offer help in Australia's stalled campaign to ban death 
penalty worldwide


Australia's Catholic bishops have offered the Church's assistance in Canberra's 
concerted but stalled efforts to abolish the death penalty across the world

Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, the President of the Australian Catholic 
Bishops Conference, has written to a Federal Parliamentary inquiry, saying the 
bishops would be happy to assist the Australian Government where it could to 
make contacts with appropriate Holy See diplomats.

"The imposition of the death penalty is cruel and unnecessary for what it does 
to those found guilty, to their families and to our society," Archbishop Hart 
said in a letter to the Secretary of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, Defence and Trade, whose Human Rights Sub-Committee is conducting the 
inquiry.

"Communities are much richer when they can demonstrate mercy.

"We can recognise the seriousness of the offences committed but still oppose 
the death penalty. Our concern for the worth of human life motivates our 
opposition to the death penalty.

"The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference would be happy to assist the 
Australian Government where it can to make contact with appropriate Holy See 
diplomats.

It would also be pleased to assist where possible with making representations 
to other national governments with the assistance of the respective National 
Catholic Bishops Conferences."

On 21 July, Australia's Foreign Minister, Ms Julie Bishop, asked the Committee 
to report on Australia's advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty.

3 months earlier, 2 Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, members of 
the so-called Bali 9, were among 8 prisoners executed by firing squad on an 
Indonesian prison island despite having served 10 years for drug smuggling and 
in defiance of pleas to President Joko Widodo for their death sentence to be 
commuted.

The bishops' submission said: "The drug crimes Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran 
were convicted of are abhorrent. Justice must prevail and appropriate 
punishment be used for the common good of the community when crimes are 
committed.

"But jail sentences, not execution, are the more appropriate means for 
punishing offenders and deterring those who would consider committing such 
crimes."

It quoted Pope Francis' speech to the US Congress on 24 September in which he 
supported the US bishops' efforts to abolish the death penalty, saying "a just 
and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal 
of rehabilitation".

The parliamentary committee's website says the Committee "acknowledges that the 
issue of the death penalty is of great concern to the Australian public, 
particularly in light of cases of Australians who have or may face capital 
punishment overseas".

(source: The Tablet)