The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has begun a campaign in opposition to capital punishment. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, said at a press conference: “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. We cannot defend life by taking life…The Catholic campaign will work to change the debate and decisions on the use of the death penalty: building a constituency for life, not death; calling on our lawmakers to lead, not follow; to defend life, not take it away.”

According to documents on their website, apparently Pope John Paul II has been saying this for at least ten years. Very interesting, considering that the Catholic church in the US has recently been known as an expressly conservative institution. This is a great move towards consistency in the church’s approach to protect life on all fronts, not just abortion.