Philippine Bishops say No to Death Penalty The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines oppose calls for restoration of the death penalty in their country. In a statement issued on 14 September 2016, Archbishop Socrates Villegas asks Catholic law-makers not to support any attempt to restore the death penalty. Speaking on… Read More »No to Restoration of the Death Penalty
The Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan has designated 19 October as a day of prayer for Asia Bibi.
Asia Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to death. In a decision described by Bishop Ruffin Anthony of Islamabad / Rawalpindi as ‘heartbreaking’, the mother of five lost an appeal against the sentence on 16 October. Read more on this case from Vatican Radio.
Human rights organisations believe that the blasphemy laws are often exploited for personal gain or to address grudges. The National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference, has advocated the abolition of the blasphemy laws for years.
Jesus, you were executed as a criminal,
be with Asia Bibi as she faces the death penalty.
Give her peace of mind
and comfort her children.
Touch the hearts, and enlighten the minds
of lawmakers and legal officers
in Pakistan, and in all countries
that use the death penalty.
Help us all to find life-giving
ways of resolving problems.
Read More »Asia Bibi Day of Prayer
Archbishop Douglas Young of Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea says that calls for the death penalty in response to widespread violence, especially against women and girls, is self-defeating. Instead he suggests: What has to happen? Support programs that will help young men to find employment, identity, and satisfaction in life.… Read More »PNG Archbishop Proposes Alternatives to the Death Penalty