THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR

 (INDYSTAR) May 18, 2001

Faith fuels drive to end death penaltyOur position: Growing opposition to the death penalty reflects a new activism by many religious communities.The execution was postponed but not the service originally scheduled for the eve Timothy McVeigh was to die. So on May 15 inside SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Archbishop Daniel Buechlein led a small congregation in prayers for the 168 people killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, their survivors and the man responsible for it all. Buechlein, spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, has long been a critic of capital punishment. He has inspired doubts about the practice among the faithful. And never more so than now, when the nation's most notorious killer is about to be executed in his archdiocese. Conservative Christians who oppose the death penalty do so because it conflicts with the sacredness of life ethic. Abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide and a state-administered lethal injection are wrong because life is a gift from God and only he has a right to take it away. By no means do all churchgoers share that view. The majority support capital punishment. So does the public in general. As recently as 1994, eight of every 10 Americans favored the death penalty. However, a decided shift in opinion has occurred lately. According to polls conducted by the Pew Research Center, support for the death penalty has slipped from 80 percent to 66 percent. Part of the change is no doubt prompted by questions about the fairness with which the law is applied. Numerous prisoners on Death Row have been released because they were wrongly convicted. Yet the Pew center reported that people who oppose capital punishment most often cite religious convictions. The growing religion-based challenge intrigues Peter Steinfels, who covers religion for the New York Times. Liberal Protestant and Jewish leaders, he noted, are quick to object to the influence of religion when it comes to politics, education, social services funding and other such secular pursuits. Yet they have been silent about the rising church-driven opposition to the death penalty. Why? One obvious reason, said Steinfels, is that "opposing the death penalty, like banning land mines or forgiving poor nations' debts is their kind of cause."We welcome the day when religious views are embraced in all public debate, regardless of whether those views are politically correct.