Action on the death penalty

Earlier this year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a background paper ( here) on the death penalty. In case you did not know, they are against it. With a death penalty bill under discussion in the state Legislature, this is a good time to review the matter. Perhaps you can use the material in the backgrounder to draft a letter to the editor (see our previous post on ten tips for writing letters).

The New York State Catholic Conference has more information available here, where they note:

In 1995 Pope John Paul II specifically addressed the death penalty issue in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae. He said, “[T]he nature and extent of the punishment must be carefully evaluated and decided upon, and ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvements in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.”

Writing a letter to the editor?

The good folks at Pax Christi note that a “letter to the editor will perhaps reach the largest audience you will ever address. More than one-third of newspaper audiences regularly read the editorial pages.”

To help you write an effective letter to the editor, they offer ten tips here, including:

Familiarize yourself with the publication to which you are writing. Review several letters to the editor that have already been printed in order to obtain a feel for what style of letter is printed most often.

Plan your initial sentence carefully. A good way to grab your reader by referring to an article (citing headline and date) that was recently printed in the same publication, then use this as a way of building a quick bridge to the content of your letter.

Limit your letter to one topic only.

The most significant information should appear in the opening paragraph as newspaper editors often cut letters to fit available space.

Use personal experiences whenever possible to illustrate your point.

Why not read the entire list and then begin thinking about your letter to the editor?

Farm Bill

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international relief and development organization of the US Catholic Community. In Congress, the organization is working with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, and Catholic Charities USA to support policies within the 2007 Farm Bill that address rural poverty, expand domestic anti-hunger programs, promote conservation and good stewardship of the land, target price supports to small and mid-sized farmers, ensure safe living and working conditions for farmworkers, and provide food aid efficiently and effectively to hungry people worldwide.

The Farm Bill defines international and domestic U.S. food and agricultural policy over several years. Much of the policy focuses on farming in the United States. However, important provisions in the Farm Bill address how the United States provides food to assist people in need worldwide not only during emergencies such as war and drought but also as a tool for long-term development such as using food to promote education, health or agriculture.

The current Farm Bill will be re-authorized because it expires at the end of September 2007. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to consider the new Farm Bill shortly. The Senate’s schedule is unclear at this time but Congress is expected to work on the bill throughout the summer and final passage to occur sometime before the end of September.

To learn more about this issue, go here.

Centering prayer

Centering Prayer Morning Retreat
Saturday, May 26th 8:30 – 11:30 AM
Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary
959 Madison Avenue, Albany

8:30 Coffee and . . . Intro to Centering Prayer for newcomers

9:00 Centering Prayer (2 twenty minute periods)

10:00 Break

10:15 Video: The Origins and Inspiration of Centering Prayer
with Frs. Thomas Keating, William Meninger & Basil Pennington

11:10 Center Prayer

11:30 Adjourn

Next meeting is June 16th

If your are planning to attend, please call Bruce Gardiner
(H) 518-325-5546
(C) 518-325-3089

Will we see you on Tuesday?

Family and Friends of Homicide Victims (FFHV), will present a panel talk on the death penalty at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 35 Adams Place, Delmar on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m.

Marie Verzulli, coordinator of FFHV, said, “The murderer leaves many victims, not just the person who is killed, but that person’s friends and family, as well as the friends and family of the murderer.”

Speakers at the presentation include Ms. Verzulli, whose sister was murdered by a serial killer; Anthony Aversano, whose father was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11; Walter Ayres, whose cousin’s granddaughter was abducted and murdered by a college classmate; John Cutro, the friend of a murder victim and an investigator in death penalty cases; Sharon Whitbeck, whose nephew was murdered, and David Kaczynski, the brother of the Unabomber and head of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.

The event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by the Commission on Peace and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and the St. Thomas chapter of Pax Christi For more information, call the church at 439-4951.

Building Peace with Justice

Building Peace with Justice is a brief, weekly bulletin reflection written by members of a Diocese of Rochester Public Policy sub-committee that links the Sunday readings to Catholic social teaching. Many parishes publish them as space allows.

For Sunday Bulletins on June 3

Today’s Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity celebrates the relational unity of God. But it also celebrates the grace that invites us into that relational unity, as sons and daughters of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is a celebration that should fill us with hope for all God’s children, despite the images and reports of violence and injustice that daily bombard us.

As peace-makers, we often find ourselves feeling burnt-out and discouraged by our efforts to bring healing to a broken world. How might today’s celebration strengthen us? How might it enable us once again, in St Paul’s words, to boast in hope of the glory of God?

Death penalty discussion at St. Thomas

Family and Friends of Homicide Victims (FFHV), will present a panel talk on the death penalty at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 35 Adams Place, Delmar on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m.

Marie Verzulli, coordinator of FFHV, said, “The murderer leaves many victims, not just the person who is killed, but that person’s friends and family, as well as the friends and family of the murderer.”

Speakers at the presentation include Ms. Verzulli, whose sister was murdered by a serial killer; Anthony Aversano, whose father was killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11; Walter Ayres, whose cousin’s granddaughter was abducted and murdered by a college classmate; John Cutro, the friend of a murder victim and an investigator in death penalty cases; and David Kaczynski, the brother of the Unabomber and head of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty.

The event is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by the Commission on Peace and Justice for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and the St. Thomas chapter of Pax Christi For more information, call the church at 439-4951.

Standing to save the world

Some friends in Hillsdale send us the following message for Mother’s Day, along with the accompanying story.

Please join us on Sunday the 13th May at 1 p.m. in Hillsdale N.Y. to stand in silent vigil to save the world. This seems a right and fitting manner in which to honor our Mothers, Grandmothers and daughters. The time is now! Fathers, grandfathers and sons are also most welcome. . We will gather at the town monument at 1 p.m. to stand in vigil. Please join us.

Sharon Mehdi wrote a wonderful short story for her five-year old granddaughter, The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering that has inspired us. A quick summary of the story is:

A busboy who worked in a café whose window faced the public park noticed that two grandmotherly looking women had been standing in the park all day without moving at all and without talking. They were dressed up in their Sunday best and were just staring at the town hall. He asked the other patrons in the café what they thought the women were up to. They speculated on a variety of things. Then, a five-year old year who was in the café spoke up and said "One of them is my grandmother and I know what they are doing. They are standing there to save the world." All of the men in the café hooted and howled and laughed. On his way home the busboy decided to ask the women what they were doing and sure enough their answer was "We are saving the world."

Over dinner that evening the busboy told his parents and he and his father hooted and howled, but his mother was totally silent. After dinner, the mother called her best friends to tell them.

The next morning the busboy looked out the café window and the two women were back, along with his mother, her friends, and the women who had been in the café the day before. All were standing in silence staring at the town hall. Again, the men hooted and howled and said things like "You can't save the world by standing in the park. That is what we have armies for," and "everyone knows you have to have banners and slogans to save the world--you can't do it by just standing in the park."

The next day the women were joined by the women who were in the café the day before and a number of their friends. This brought the local newspaper reporter to the scene. He wrote a derisive article about the women. The day after it appeared, hundreds of women showed up to stand in the park in silence. The mayor then told the police chief to make the women leave because they were making the town appear to be foolish. When the police chief told them they would have to disperse because they didn't have a permit, one of them responded that "we are just individuals standing in our public park and we are not giving speeches or having a demonstration so why would we need a permit." The police chief thought about this and agreed with them and left the park.

At this point 2,223 women including the mayor's wife, the police chief's wife, and one five-year old girl were standing in the park to save the world. The news quickly spread and soon women were standing all over the country. The story ended with women standing in every country throughout the globe, standing to save the world.

You can learn more here.

Opposition to the death penalty

Today's Times Union reported on opposition to the death penalty:

Albany Roman Catholic Bishop Howard Hubbard denounced the death penalty Monday as a group of activists urged Senate Republicans not to vote for capital punishment.

"Human life is sacred and inherently precious," Hubbard said. "Some argue that the death penalty is needed as a means of retributive justice. While retribution is justified, revenge can never be."

The entire article is here. Please read it and contact your state legislator with a request to oppose reinstating the death penalty in New York.

Another view of the death penalty

Jeffrey Deskovic served 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. This week he wrote about his views on the death penalty in the Journal News.

The shootings last week involving state troopers, including a "friendly fire" fatality near Margaretville, N.Y., renewed talk of reviving the death penalty in New York. Here is another view.

When I was 16, a Peekskill High classmate was raped and murdered. The town was outraged. Police were under pressure to solve the crime. I was someone who kept to myself. Police questioned me for 7 1/2 hours in a precinct far from my home. They told me falsely that I failed a lie detector test. They said others would hurt me if I didn't confess. They said if I told them what happened, I could go home. I was alone. I was scared. My mother did not know where I was. So I told them what they wanted to hear, to make the interrogation end. Ultimately, I confessed to a crime I did not do. I was arrested for rape and murder.

Shortly after my arrest, a test showed my DNA did not match that found on the victim, Angela Correa. The Westchester district attorney, the late Carl Vergari, prosecuted me anyway, based on my confession alone. I ended up serving 16 years for crimes I did not commit. My final appeal - I was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison - to the U.S. Supreme Court ended in 1999. In death penalty cases, sentences are carried out after appeals are exhausted. My innocence was not proven until 2006, seven years after my last appeal was rejected.

The rest of article is here.