Parish's panel on capital punishment attracts all views

Cindy Seacord came because she believes the death penalty is wrong. Mary McClaine attended because she believes it is right.

Personal stories, considered opinions and legal realities were showcased at a panel discussion on capital punishment that was held last week at Our Lady of Fatima parish in Schenectady. Organizers planned the event to mark the recent inauguration of the U.S. bishops' "Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty."

David Kaczynski, director of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, spoke on the current legal status of the death penalty in New York State. Marguerite Marsh, the mother of a woman who was murdered in 1996, told of her opposition to executions.

Why they came

Some of those who attended the session spoke with The Evangelist about their views on the death penalty. Phil Sheehan, for example, said he had always been "unhappily tolerant" of the law, which was re-instituted in New York State in 1995 and declared unconstitutional last June by the state's Court of Appeals.

That view changed over time, he said, as he learned more about the death penalty. He was especially affected by the words of Pope John Paul II on the subject. The pope noted in 1995 that failures in the system should prompt societies to apply it in a very limited way, if at all.

"I remember thinking, 'Yeah, that sounds about right,'" he said.

'Powerful topic'

Richard Terry, a social studies teacher and parishioner of St. Helen's Church in Niskayuna, called capital punishment "a powerful topic."

He sometimes feels "extremely frustrated that the Church does not stand against the death penalty as strong as abortion and frustrated that [some] people that are outspoken opponents of abortion are all right with the death penalty."

Ms. Seacord, a member of the host parish, said it was a good time for Catholics to examine their beliefs about capital punishment, no matter what they hold to be true. She said that her beliefs on the subject are rooted in her Catholic faith.

"I've always been against the death penalty ever since I was a little girl," she said. "I just don't understand why killing someone is supposed to send the correct message. I believe that we are to show mercy and that God is not finished with us. For me, that's part of my faith and belief: that God is merciful and that we love our enemies. He doesn't say to let them walk away -- there needs to be rehabilitation; but, when He says, 'Do not kill,' I take that pretty literally."

Both sides

Ms. McClaine, a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Church in Schenectady, also finds her basis for belief in Church teachings.

From an early age, she said, she was taught in parochial schools that the death penalty was "the price one pays for breaking the rules in the game of life. I've never felt it was a deterrent."

It is her custom, she said, to attend events that take positions she may not agree with, "because it is important to hear the other side and where they're coming from. I've been known to change my mind. But, 12 years of parochial school and catechism classes held that position. That's where I learned that."

Questions

Tom Boland, a campus minister at Union College in Schenectady, is writing his doctoral dissertation on Catholic theology and the death penalty. As one of the presenters, he posed some questions to the audience: "How do we as a Church understand the death penalty? What are we called to do as a faith community? How do we create a new beginning?"

Judy DePasquale, a member of the social justice committee at Our Lady of Fatima, lamented the lack of talk about the death penalty among Catholics in the pews and promoted the bishops' campaign.

"It's very difficult to get the word out," she said. "Sometimes, we feel that the silent people are our Church. We need to raise our voices. That is so important."

New interest

Rosemary Ford and Anita Pierce were attending a talk about the death penalty for the first time. They said they had been concerned about it in the past; but, it never had really affected their lives until recently, when they watched news stories that intrigued them.

Since then, their own research into the subject has led them to believe the death penalty should not be re-implemented in New York.

"We thought that this topic needed to be discussed," said Mrs. Ford. "I hadn't really thought about it; you don't when it doesn't really touch you."

Said Ms. Pierce, "As long as [murderers] are still alive, they can have time to reflect and think and -- I'll put it this way -- save their souls."

Coming to listen

Michael Range, a St. Helen's parishioner, is a native of Italy. The death penalty was never an issue for him because it was not legal there.

"While I don't have an emotional issue with it," he said, coming to the meeting was "a good opportunity to hear what is going on at the political level and see what I can do," now that he lives in the United States.

His wife, Sandrina, noted that the topic is "of great concern" to her: "It is a very difficult issue. Sometimes, I have felt uncomfortable about it. But, someone has to stand guard. It is good for us to come here, for it is telling us that we actually have a voice."

(6/9/05)