Catholic and Secular Organizations Work Together to Repeal the Death Penalty in Nebraska

Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NADP) will present their case for why local Catholics should support LB 268, a bill to repeal the death penalty in Nebraska, to the parishioners of St. John Vianny Catholic Church, located at 5801 Oak Hills Drive in Omaha.

Father Richard Reiser, Pastor of St. John Vianney, said that the NADP will give a presentation before the Saturday Vigil Mass on February 28, and will likewise be speaking before all scheduled Sunday Masses on Sunday, March 1.

“I like to keep these topics in front of people,” Fr. Reiser said. “I like to be a vehicle for this conversation as a parish pastor. So, we will give them [NADP] some time at the beginning of the Masses to come tell their story, and I think there will be some that will respond to that.”

In addition to giving a presentation at the church, the NADP will be asking parishioners to write to their local legislators encouraging their support of LB 268. The NADP will be collecting the letters at the parish to ensure they are sent out on time.

“People have wanted to know what they can do,” said Effie Caldarola, Field Organizer for NADP. “Well, what every citizen can do is write to their legislator. It is a very effective way to send a strong message.

Caldarola also noted that anyone interested in further supporting LB 268 may join the NADP in lobbying their local legislators on March 4 in Lincoln, saying, “Any citizen can attend the lobby day at the state capitol. We are meeting first in the basement of St. Mary’s Church, and then we will go over to the capitol to meet with our senators. Then the judiciary committee will hear the bill, and we are very confident that the bill will be referred out of committee. Overall, it will be an educational day and we invite anyone to come.”

Although the NADP is not an explicitly Catholic organization, Effie Caldarola is herself a practicing Catholic, and spoke to us on the matter of the death penalty as a pro-life issue from a personal perspective, and not as an official representative of the NADP.

“Speaking to this as a pro-life issue would be me personally, because I am a Catholic,” Caldarola said. "We [NADP] certainly don’t equate any issues, pro-life issues, we do think, however, that the death penalty, as viewed by the USCCB and the three most recent popes, is indeed a pro-life issue. Pope Saint John Paul II really changed the conversation on the death penalty through the Catechism to reflect better our Catholic teaching. We feel the death penalty is an assault on the Catholic view of the dignity of life. Even the worst sinner has the right to his life so he can come to terms with God and reconciliation. That is what I would say the Catholic position is.”

The official teaching of the Catholic Church on the matter of the death penalty can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2267, which reads, “Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

The NADP is not alone in actively endorsing LB 268, with local Catholic support coming from the Notre Dame Sisters of Omaha, who are also working to garner local support for the bill. The Notre Dame Sisters have openly supported the repeal of the death penalty in Nebraska for more than three decades.

“We made a corporate statement as a group of women back in 1984,” Said Sister Rosalee Burke, who spearheads issues of social justice for the Notre Dame Sisters. “So, from then on we have been working to abolish the death penalty, and since that time we have helped the NADP with their fundraisers and have had different people who have worked on some of their committees.”

“We think that it makes no sense to be killing people in order to convince them that they shouldn’t kill,” Sr. Rosalee said. “The Catholic Church teaches there are alternatives that can be used. We can incarcerate someone with no chance of parole. We just feel that it is an inhumane way to treat people. I think that what is so awful, when you look at abortion, the death penalty, or human trafficking, is the total disregard for the human person, which breeds more evil due to this disregard of the human person. Dignity says that we don’t end someone’s life.”

According to Deacon Tim McNeil, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Archbishop Lucas has affirmed his support of LB 268 and his desire to see the death penalty repealed. The Nebraska Catholic Conference has likewise thrown its support behind the bill as well.

For those interested in the attending the lobby day with the NADP, the group will meet at 10 a.m. in the basement of St, Mary’s church, located on 14th and K in Lincoln. A free lunch will be provided.

For more information, please visit http://nadp.net/

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