Xaverian Brothers are an international Catholic religious congregation founded in Belgium in 1839 by Theodore James Ryken who was inspired by the missionary spirit of St. Francis Xavier. They commit themselves to a life of prayer by which we aspire to fall in love with God and to be impelled by that love to be of service to others, particularly the poor and marginalized.
Death Penalty Statement
We Xaverian Brothers oppose the death penalty and will work, in whatever ways we can, for its abolition in all of its forms. We recognize the violent nature of the world in which we live and we have compassion for those who are the victims of violence; but we believe that the death penalty perpetuates the ever-growing cycle of violence and flies in the face or our belief as Catholic Christians that all life is sacred, and that the lives of those guilty of the most heinous crimes are still sacred in the eyes of God.
In addition to the death penalty itself we are also concerned with how it is administered – its sometimes arbitrary nature, and the fact that death row populations are disproportionately poor, black, and Hispanic.
