Florida’s Catholic bishops are urging state residents to work to bring about an end to the death penalty, describing it as a “culture of death” and incompatible with a full Catholic understanding of the value of human life. Source: National Catholic Register.
The eight prelates – including Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Palm Beach Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez – issued the message amid large numbers of executions in Florida.
The state executed 19 prisoners in 2025, helping drive a rise in capital punishment throughout the United States. Florida has executed 12 inmates thus far in 2026, including a rare double execution yesterday.
In their letter, Florida’s Catholic bishops, who regularly advocate on behalf of condemned prisoners there, urged Catholics toward a “renewed consideration” of capital punishment, one informed by “the teaching of the Church and her moral authority.”
“[W]e wish to remind Catholics of the teaching of our Church against the use of the death penalty in situations – like our own – where bloodless means are sufficient to punish offenders and protect public safety,” the bishops said.
They pointed out that Jesus in his teaching revealed that “God desires to offer mercy to sinners who do not deserve it”.
While the prelates acknowledged that parts of Scripture “condone the death penalty at least in certain circumstances,” they argued that the “fullest development of God’s revelation of his will” points away from capital punishment.
In addition, they cited papal teachings such as Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae, which urges that modern secure penal systems have made it “very rare, if not practically non-existent” for the death penalty to be justified.
At the same time, the bishops also acknowledged the horrific nature of crimes and the need for “deep sympathy and compassion” for family members who have lost loved ones to murder.
“We agree that the perpetrators of such crimes should be brought to justice, but we disagree that justice is best served by yet another act of killing,” they said.
The bishops said they will continue to work to abolish the death penalty; they further urged both Catholics and “fellow citizens of goodwill” to work to end the practice as well.
FULL STORY
‘Culture of Death’: Florida Bishops Urge Catholics to Work to End the Death Penalty (By Daniel Payne, EWTN News via National Catholic Register)
