Though executions are still regularly carried out in the U.S, Murphy said the country is “unquestionably” moving away from capital punishment.
Catholics, she said, “have to raise our voice against each and every execution to remind our elected officials that they cannot continue to kill in our names.”
Among its numerous initiatives, CMN offers what it calls the “Mercy in Action Project,” which keeps participants abreast of upcoming executions, assists them in sending clemency letters to state authorities, and offers resources for prayer on behalf of condemned prisoners.
The group also “works at every level within the Catholic Church in the United States,” Murphy said, including collaborations with state Catholic conferences, involvement with religious communities, and cooperation with leadership at the USCCB. The organization holds a virtual prayer vigil on the first Friday of every month; nearly two dozen bishops have participated in the vigil events.
Murphy said that at present the group is “concentrating mostly around opposing executions and supporting repeal efforts at the state level” but that “it’s not lost on us how important it remains to continue to urge abolition at the federal level too.”
The federal government imposed a moratorium on the federal death penalty in 2021; several dozen condemned inmates still sit on federal death row. Over 2,000 convicts are still in state-level death rows as well.
Though opposition to capital punishment remains its central focus, Murphy noted that CMN’s advocacy goes well beyond bringing an end to the death penalty.
“CMN also works to build a culture of life,” she said, “by providing training and resources to parishes and parish ministries to implement restorative practices that capacitate our Catholic communities to respond to harm and violence in a way that prioritizes the healing and wholeness of all people, rather than revenge.”
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