Catholics urged to oppose death penalty

[Tangledog]

Opponents of the death penalty cite many reasons to abolish it: It does not deter murderers, it is racially biased, innocents die.

But for the Catholic Church, there is a single, doctrinal reason: "Human life is a gift from God that must be respected from conception to natural death."

So wrote Norwich Bishop Michael R. Cote in a letter read to most of the 227,000 parishioners of the diocese's 78 parishes Sunday.

New London Day, January 11, 2005. This story will require registration after tomorrow.

http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=0502389F-B1CE-490D-866B-934BCD3A9147

[Osamasux]

1. Gee, timing is everything.

Where were they before the election.

[pelagius]

2. Catholics have held this position for a long time...

...and articulated it pretty frequently. Say what you like about their stance on contraception and abortion, but they are pretty consistently "pro-life" across the board unlike the numbnuts for whom "pro-life" stops at birth.

The issue is not why hasn't the Catholic hierarchy articulated this stance before, but why did the media choose to highlight some reactionary bishops who behaved in a partisan way during the election?