First and foremost, Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina (CANC) recognize that the mission of the Church is to evangelize.
Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection. [1]
Therefore, regarding Public Policy as the Third Pillar of our Mission Statement, all of CANC’s non-partisan political activity shares in this call to evangelization. Our members will provide a witness of fidelity to the LORD Jesus in conduct, as well as in verbal proclamation. Above all, members of CANC will demonstrate love and compassion to everyone we interact with in our efforts to promote laws that advance the common good.
This sentiment can be summarized by the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel. This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment. You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry.” [2]
CANC derives its guidance for public policy from the USCCB Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities. The following public policy for CANC is modified from this plan in order to address the specific work of abolishing the death penalty in North Carolina.
Protecting and promoting the inviolable rights of persons is the most solemn responsibility of civil authority. As Americans and as religious leaders we are committed to governance by a system of law that protects human rights and maintains the common good.
We are reminded that “the Church must be committed to the task of educating and supporting lay people involved in law-making, government and the administration of justice, so that legislation will always reflect those principles and moral values which are in conformity with a sound anthropology and advance the common good.” [3]
The Declaration of Independence, written more than two hundred years ago, speaks of the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” before making this historic assertion: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Today we see the tensions increasing between these founding principles and political reality.
These tensions continue in the way that elements of society attempt to seek solutions without realizing that they are false answers that do not resolve the problems that they are meant to solve and ultimately introduce new elements of destruction in the fabric of society. [4] Notable among these is the use of the death penalty which seeks to eliminate others.
Pope Francis stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice. There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we state clearly that “the death penalty is inadmissible” and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide. [5]
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a “Gospel of life.” It invites all persons to a new life lived abundantly in respect for human dignity. We believe that this Gospel is not only a complement to American…principles, but also the cure for the spiritual sickness now infecting our society…. We cannot simultaneously commit ourselves to human rights and progress while eliminating or marginalizing the weakest among us. Nor can we practice the Gospel of life only as a private piety. American Catholics must live it vigorously and publicly, as a matter of national leadership and witness, or we will not live it at all. [6]
The law is not the only means of protecting life, but it plays a key and often decisive role in affecting both human behavior and thinking. Those called to civil leadership, as Pope John Paul II reminds us, “have a duty to make courageous choices in support of life, especially through legislative measures.” This is a responsibility that cannot be put aside, “especially when he or she has a legislative or decision-making
mandate, which calls that person to answer to God, to his or her own conscience and to the whole of society for choices which may be contrary to the common good.” [7]
Public officials are privileged in a special way to apply their moral convictions to the policy arena. We hold in high esteem those who, through such positions and authority, promote respect for all human life. Catholic civil leaders who reject or ignore the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life do so at risk to their own spiritual well-being. “No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life.”[8]
It is imperative to restore legal protection to the lives of unborn children and to ensure that the lives of others, especially those who are disabled, elderly, or dying, are not further jeopardized.
A comprehensive public policy program should include long- and short-term goals that protect life from conception to natural death, and CANC works specifically to support efforts to abolish the death penalty. It is imperative to restore legal protection to the lives of unborn children and to ensure that the lives of others, especially those who are disabled, elderly, or dying, are not further jeopardized.
Laws Less Than Perfect
While at times human law may not fully articulate the moral imperative—full protection for the right to life—our legal system can and must be continually reformed so that it will increasingly fulfill its proper task of protecting the weak and preserving the right to life of every human being, born and unborn. In The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II explains that one may support “imperfect” legislation—legislation that, for example, does not fully promote the dignity of life, but puts some control on a current more permissive laws by aiming to limit some aspects of violence—if that is the best that can be achieved at a particular time. In doing so one seeks to limit the harm done by the present law: “This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects.”[9]
Find out more about the death penalty in your County by following these statistics, as collected by the North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. It does make a powerful impact on the continuation of capital cases and executions by who we elect into office – from District Attorneys to our U.S. Senators and Representatives.
[1] Evangelization in the Modern World § 14
[2] King, Martin Luther. A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings. Boston: Beacon Press, 2012. P. x
[3] The Church in America, no. 19, quoting Synod for America, proposition § 72
[4] On fraternity and social friendship § 255
[5] On fraternity and social friendship § 263
[6] Living the Gospel of Life, § 20
[7] The Gospel of Life, § 90
[8] Living the Gospel of Life, § 32
[9] The Gospel of Life § 73
