Pope Francis: video message to Death Penalty conference

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt8mwgcAJpAfjhNRoSs0flBD3EsD0ByU0ub_cmTsQyfnyO-2Ll102cmnD1ZsbfrWzpOQ65oHqYjBAOzCXyv6qccpkuduWDB1TMkqypFBeIaN-faDiKbgB-Ir1ADa8874Z4kBMzW6wpT0/s1600/Pope+Francis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pope Francis" border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikt8mwgcAJpAfjhNRoSs0flBD3EsD0ByU0ub_cmTsQyfnyO-2Ll102cmnD1ZsbfrWzpOQ65oHqYjBAOzCXyv6qccpkuduWDB1TMkqypFBeIaN-faDiKbgB-Ir1ADa8874Z4kBMzW6wpT0/s400/Pope+Francis.jpg" title="Pope Francis" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video message to the participants in the Sixth World Conference Against the Death Penalty, taking place this week in Oslo, Norway. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Holy Father put his message in the key of the Year of Mercy, saying, “The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is an auspicious occasion for promoting worldwide ever more evolved forms of respect for the life and dignity of each person.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Francis goes on to say, “It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Please find the full text of the Holy Father’s message below:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Message of His Holiness Pope Francis</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Sixth World Congress Against the Death Penalty</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Oslo, 21-23 June 2016</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">I greet the organizers of this World Congress against the death penalty, the group of countries supporting it, particularly Norway as its host country, and all those representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society taking part in it. I likewise express my personal appreciation, along with that of men and women of goodwill, for your commitment to a world free of the death penalty.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">One sign of hope is that public opinion is manifesting a growing opposition to the death penalty, even as a means of legitimate social defence. Indeed, nowadays the death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person. It is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person; it likewise contradicts God’s plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice. Nor is it consonant with any just purpose of punishment. It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. The commandment “Thou shalt not kill” has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is an auspicious occasion for promoting worldwide ever more evolved forms of respect for the life and dignity of each person. It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Today I would encourage all to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, but also for the improvement of prison conditions, so that they fully respect the human dignity of those incarcerated. “Rendering justice” does not mean seeking punishment for its own sake, but ensuring that the basic purpose of all punishment is the rehabilitation of the offender. The question must be dealt with within the larger framework of a system of penal justice open to the possibility of the guilty party’s reinsertion in society. There is no fitting punishment without hope! Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">I trust that this Congress can give new impulse to the effort to abolish capital punishment. For this reason, I encourage all taking part to carry on this great initiative and I assure them of my prayers.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/21/pope_francis_video_message_to_death_penalty_conference/1238843" target="_blank">Vatican Radio</a>, June 21, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video message to the participants in the Sixth World Conference Against the Death Penalty, taking pl...

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Mom of killer on death row for Collin County murder makes case to pope

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahPTlPAB_gmqBDXzj4GTZUUmZCJu-FG9Cxnn9xQ7qMkvSR8ICRdC07E9NJ2FPGQh-qzMNckK1e9jg_blyesm4pCe8GwZr8SMIREWGV6cQd99cIdg1SAs28pjyfRmsrcJYljT-P1geOKY/s1600/Pope+Francis+talks+with+Lidia+Guerrero%252C+the+Argentine+mother+of+a+man+on+death+row+in+Texas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pope Francis talks with Lidia Guerrero, the Argentine mother of a man on death row in Texas" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahPTlPAB_gmqBDXzj4GTZUUmZCJu-FG9Cxnn9xQ7qMkvSR8ICRdC07E9NJ2FPGQh-qzMNckK1e9jg_blyesm4pCe8GwZr8SMIREWGV6cQd99cIdg1SAs28pjyfRmsrcJYljT-P1geOKY/s400/Pope+Francis+talks+with+Lidia+Guerrero%252C+the+Argentine+mother+of+a+man+on+death+row+in+Texas.jpg" title="Pope Francis talks with Lidia Guerrero, the Argentine mother of a man on death row in Texas" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Pope Francis talks with Lidia Guerrero, the Argentine mother of a man on</div><div style="text-align: left;">death row in Texas.</div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has met for a second time with the Argentine mother of a man on death row for the 1995 slaying of a Plano man.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Vatican announced the meeting Saturday between Francis and Lidia Guerrero but gave no details.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After their first meeting, in Rome in 2014, the mother said that the pope, who is also Argentine, assured her of his prayers for Victor Hugo Saldano, who was convicted in 1996 for abducting and fatally shooting Paul Ray King, 46. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Francis has vigorously promoted Vatican teaching saying capital punishment is morally unjustified.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saldano entered the United States illegally in the early 1990s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The day laborer from Argentina became the first person sentenced to death from that country since it won independence from Spain in 1809.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Saldano and an accomplice, Jorge Chavez, 27, abducted King from a Sack 'n Save supermarket Nov. 25, 1995, and killed him later at Lake Lavon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Guerrero has said her son is guilty of murder but has been driven insane during his time on death row and has already paid for his crime.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chavez, the accomplice, received a life sentence in the case. He will be eligible for parole in 2035.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: The Dallas Morning News, AP, June 12, 2016</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Report an error, an omission:<a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com" target="_blank"> deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <span style="font-size: small;"> - Follow us on <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Death-Penalty-News-206848499362906/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> </b>and <b><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b></span></div></div>

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Pope Francis talks with Lidia Guerrero, the Argentine mother of a man on death row in Texas. VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has met for a sec...

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