The Abolitionist Action Committee
AAC is an ad-hoc group of individuals committed to highly visible and effective publiceducation for alternatives to the death penalty through nonviolent direct action.
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On May 16th, the first federal execution in 38 years is scheduled to take place when Timothy McVeigh is put to death. This impending execution will, as Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein of Indianapolis states, ‘test the mettle’ of death penalty opposition as McVeigh is convicted of killing 168 people in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Archbishop Buechlein further stated, that as a society we must “never forget the victims of crime and their bereaved loved ones. The truly honorable memorial is to choose life rather than death.” Death penalty opposition actions have been scheduled around the world on May 16th. Pax Christi USA is asking its membership to organize public prayer vigils throughout the country on the day of McVeigh’s execution. We must not be silent in our opposition to the death penalty even in the face of such a heinous crime. We must witness to the hope that someday we, as a nation, will find answers in life rather than in continued killing. Below is a prepared prayer service, the names of the 168 victims of the Oklahoma bombing and an action suggestion that we hope will be helpful as you plan your event…please feel free to adapt the materials to fit your needs. Thank you, in advance, for your witness. A
PRAYER SERVICE OF HOPE: (Use of candles is optional…adapt service accordingly.) One large Candle of Life should be lit at the beginning of the prayer service. Smaller candles need to be provided for people to light during the naming of each of the 168 victims of the Oklahoma bombing. One candle should also be lit for Timothy McVeigh who is to be executed. The candles should burn throughout the service. Welcome (Leader 1) (Informally welcome people, introducing presiders and musicians, invite, and set the tone for the service. If it is a small group, you may want to invite people to introduce themselves to one another.) Opening
Hymn:
“God, Teach Us Peacemaking” (or
some other appropriate song) Call to
Prayer Let
us pray. We
pray for the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. We pray for healing for their families and friends. Comfort and heal all those whose loved ones have died through violence. We pray for Timothy McVeigh (light this candle from the Candle of Life.) who, himself, will die a violent death through execution. We pray for his family and friends--for their comfort and consolation. We pray especially for all others on death row across the country. Help our nation and each of us to turn from revenge to forgiveness and unconditional love. Bring an end to the death penalty in this country. Hear our prayer. ALL: Amen.
Leader 2: Please respond: Forgive us our sin. ALL: Forgive us our sin. Leader 2: We recognize that the death penalty is part of the violence in our society. We beg forgiveness for state-sanctioned killings by execution and for all acts of violence. We acknowledge the violence we perpetuate in our world: providing weapons; imposing crushing debt payments; withholding food from governments that we call “enemies.”... Forgive us our sin. We acknowledge the violence within our country: allowing millions of children and elderly to live in hunger and without homes or shelter; depriving the sick of adequate health care; imprisoning and executing racial minorities in disproportionate numbers... Forgive us our sin. We acknowledge the violence in our communities and homes: battering and neglecting children and abusing women; discriminating against minorities; destroying our environment; building walls of anger and hatred... Forgive us our sin. We invite you to name the acts of violence that lie heavy on your heart. (After all have had a chance to respond, leader leads response.) ALL: Forgive us our sinfulness, O God. Heal us of the wounds that afflict our society and us. Empower us to erase the hatred and violence that continue to scourge people and creation. Empower those of us gathered here today/tonight to continue our efforts to work for an end to the death penalty. First Reading: (Read the enclosed statement, The True Road to Justice, by Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Cap. and/or if family or friends of the person to be executed are present, invite them to tell something about the person and/or if there are members of murder victims’ families present, invite them to offer testimony, as well.) (Silence.)
Second Reading: (Read the enclosed statement from Cardinal Roger Mahony, Chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Domestic Policy Committee, May 25, 2000). (Silence.) Sung Response: “God, Teach us Peacemaking” (refrain only) or some other appropriate song. Third Reading: Matthew 5:43-48 or 7:1-5 (Silence.) Closing Ritual Leader 1: We live in a time of darkness. Many lives have been ended violently and senselessly. We remember the victims and those executed in retaliation, since the restitution of the death penalty. (The 168 candles representing the Oklahoma bombing victims and the candle representing Timothy McVeigh are extinguished. The Candle of Life remains burning.)
Leader 2: But darkness has not triumphed. Death and suffering are not to triumph over life. Revenge and anger shall not triumph over forgiveness and love. We pray that God will bless us, and go before us in the flame of these candles that we carry in our hearts as reminders of our burning desire to be co-creators of peace and justice in our world. (Adapted from a prayer service in Our Prayers Rise Like Incense created by Dr. Kathleen Kenney and Sr. Marilyn Winter, OP, from the Office of Justice and Peace and the Office of Worship, Catholic Diocese of Richmond, VA, on the occasion of executions being held regularly in the State of VA) Litany
of the 168 Victims of the April 1995 Oklahoma Bombing 1st Reading The
True Road to Justice On the heels of the Timothy McVeigh verdict, a local radio station set up a kind of drive-by jury a few miles from Denver's federal courthouse. The idea, literally, was to honk if you wanted to execute (or "fry") the killer. By the end of Wednesday, June 4, more than 24,000 Coloradans had done so. Let's overlook, for a moment, the circus-like indignity this brought to a moment of almost unbearable remembering for those who lost family and friends in the Oklahoma City bombing. Instead, let's acknowledge a fact: A large majority of Americans support the death penalty. And so do most Catholics. Decent people are understandably tired of the violence in society. They need to defend their children and themselves. They want a deterrent. And even when the deterrent might fail, goes the reasoning, at least it can bring justice and emotional closure for the relatives of murder victims. These are powerful arguments, especially today, as we grapple with vivid and terrible memories of the bombing. But they are wrong. As a brother, I ask the people of this archdiocese and all people of good will to turn away from the death penalty, not only for the sake of the convicted person, but to protect our own God-given human dignity. Let me tell you why. Most arguments against capital punishment demonstrate that it doesn't work as a deterrent—but let's say it does. Most arguments against capital punishment demonstrate that innocent people are sometimes convicted and executed; that the legal system discriminates against minorities and the poor; that defendants in many states get disastrous legal counsel unless they can afford otherwise. All these things seem to be true—but let's ignore them. Instead, let's assume that a person is guilty of premeditated murder; that he or she gets good legal counsel, with correct legal process, and is convicted by a fair jury after careful and intelligent deliberation. Killing the guilty is still wrong. It does not honor the dead. It does not ennoble the living. And while it may satisfy society's anger for awhile, it cannot even release the murder victim's loved ones from their sorrow, because only forgiveness can do that. What the death penalty does accomplish is closure through blood-letting, violence against violence—which is not really closure at all, because murder will continue as long as humans sin, and capital punishment can never, by its nature, strike at murder's root. Only love can do that. As we consider the McVeigh verdict, and as we pray for and support the families of the victims, we need to put aside our anger for the sake of our children. And we need to reflect very carefully on the choices we make about the death penalty. Executions in Texas could soon reach 50 a month, nearly two a day. Ponder that through the eyes of a young person reading the newspaper—or driving by a fry-the-killer radio survey on the street. Is this how we define ourselves as a civilized people? Is this really a fitting monument to those who died? I am aware, as I write these words, that the reality of capital crime is heart-breaking beyond words. I do not presume to understand the deep and bitter personal wounds suffered by those who lose their loved ones through murder. I would gladly give away whatever I have in life to bring back just one of the children lost in the Oklahoma City bombing. As a people, we must never allow ourselves the luxury of forgetting the injustice done to victims of murder and terrorism who cannot speak for themselves—or our obligation to bring the guilty to full accounting. But as Jesus showed again and again by His words and in His actions, the only true road to justice passes through mercy. Justice cannot be served by more violence. "Frying the killer" may sound funny to some, righteous to others. But make no mistake: Capital punishment is just another drug we take to ease other, much deeper anxieties about the direction of our culture. Executions may take away some of the symptoms for a time (symptoms who have names and their own stories before God), but the underlying illness—today's contempt for human life—remains and grows worse. We may find some wisdom by praying over Genesis 4:10-16. Humanity's first murderer, the man who brought blood-letting into the world, was spared by the God of justice. May that same merciful God, Creator of us all, grant us the grace to withstand this test of our convictions. (This paragraph was slightly adapted from the original text to make it more timely and to honor Pax Christi USA’s commitment to inclusive language.) 2nd Reading From Cardinal Roger Mahony, chair of the U.S. Bishops' Domestic Policy Committee, May 25, 2000:
"...In reflecting on Catholic teaching, we must conclude that 'even the
most hardened criminal remains a human person, created in God's image, and
possessing a dignity, value and worth which must be recognized, promoted,
safeguarded and defended.' Simply put, we believe that every person is
sacred, every life is precious - even the life of one who has violated the
rights of others by taking a life. Human dignity is not qualified by
what we do. It cannot be earned or forfeited. Human dignity is an
irrevocable character of each and every person.... Simple solutions rarely address difficult problems. What is needed is a moral revolution that results in genuine respect for every human life - especially the unborn and the poor, the crime victims and even the violent offender. In the end, our society will be measured by how we treat 'the least among us.' It challenges each person to defend human life in every circumstance and situation. It calls on our leaders and the media to seek the common good and not appeal to our worst instincts. This is a time for a new ethic - justice without vengeance. Let us come together to hold people accountable for their actions, to resist and condemn violence, to stand with victims of crime and to insist that those who destroy community answer to the community. But let us also remember that we cannot restore life by taking life, that vengeance cannot heal and that all of us must find new ways to defend human life and dignity in a far too violent society. This will be a long struggle. It begins by raising new doubts about the death penalty. It will require new and more serious efforts to address crime and reform prisons. But in the end, we cannot practice what we condemn. We cannot defend life by taking life. We cannot contain violence by using state violence." Additional Action Suggestion: Sr. Dorothy Briggs, O.P. of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the National CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants) organization are promoting the ringing of church bells for two minutes across the nation on the evening of Timothy McVeigh's execution on May 16. The ringing of the bells is to protest his execution, which is being done in the name of all U.S. citizens, and also as a remembrance of his victims and their surviving families. For more information on this program, email Sr. Dorothy at dotbop@juno.com or contact CURE at www.curenational.org/bells . Death Penalty Resources: Breaking
The Cycle of Violence (Death Penalty Packet) (Item 525-410………$5 plus s&h) Death
Penalty Backgrounder Death
Penalty Card To order: 814-453-4955; ext. 231; fax: 814-452-4784 Pax
Christi USA
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TEST OF FAITH