Bishops Statements

In 2006, North Dakota Bishop Samuel Aquila made a strong statement from the Catholic Church opposing the first death penalty case in 100 years in North Dakota. Here is a summary of Bishop Aquila's statement:

"Bishop Samuel Aquila heads the Fargo diocese and says the church recognizes the government has the right to take a life, however Aquila says those cases are rare and that the church believes that life in prison is preferred to the death penalty. Aquila says he hasn't met with Sjodin's family but he realizes the family wants justice.

In 2006, the Bishops of Indiana rolled out with a resource to be used state-wide proclaiming the Church's pro-life voice and its opposition to the death penalty. Found below, the Bishops speak to Catholics in Indiana answering the question why our society does not need capital punishment. In short, a portion of the document reads:

D.C. has abolished the death penalty. However, the church still speaks out against the federal death penalty. In 2004, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who at the time was the Archbishop of Washington, came out with a strong statement against the expansion of the federal death penalty for terrorists. Here is a portion of his statement:

In 1998, the Bishops of Iowa made a public statement regarding their opposition to the death penalty because, at that time, the Iowa legislature was debating a bill intended to reinstate the death penalty. A section of the Bishops' text is read here: