01/12/2004

St. Egidio leads worldwide rallies against death penalty

Opponents of capital punishment are rallying in cities all around the world on November 30: a day designated by the St. Egidio community as the World Day against the Death Penalty.

"It all started in 2002, when we lit up the Coliseum to increase awareness on the problem of the death penalty all over the world," Stefania Tallei, the head of the St. Egidio community's campaign told the Fides news service. "Since then, every year on November 30, monuments in many parts of the world are illuminated to encourage as many people as possible to join our campaign."

November 30 was chosen for the St. Egidio campaign because it is the historic date on which the Grand Duke Leopoldo of Tuscany abolished torture and the death penalty in 1786. In Rome the day will be marked with a rally in the Palazzo Leopardi, in the city's Trastevere district, followed by a march through the streets to the Coliseum in which several noted personalities, led by Rome's Mayor Walter Veltroni, will take part.

This year more than 300 cities are holding observances. In Italy alone the list includes Milan, Florence, Naples, Genoa, Palermo, and Turin. Elsewhere in Europe there will be monuments illuminated in Madrid, Barcelona, Vienna, Brussels, Geneva, Berlin, Paris, Dublin, Copenhagen, Stockhold, and Tirana. In the Americas, the list includes Mexico City, Buenos Aires, San Salvador, Bogota, Medellin, Atlanta, Porto Alegre, and Montreal. Demonstrations are also scheduled in Tokyo, Canberra, and Wellington, New Zealand.