Poll shows Catholics evenly split on death penalty issue

A SURVEY TAKEN AMONG 1,508 CATHOLICS NATIONWIDE showed they were nearly evenly divided as to whether "capital punishment is wrong under virtually all circumstances." Forty-nine percent of the respondents said they agreed with that statement, while 48% disagreed, according to a Nov. 28 Catholic News Service report.The telephone survey was taken between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 by Zogby International, a Utica, NY-based polling firm, in conjunction with LeMoyne College in nearby Syracuse. It is the first in a regular series of surveys on "Contemporary Catholic Trends" to be conducted by the two organizations. On other issues, 68% of the respondents agreed with the statement "abortion is morally wrong under virtually all circumstances," 66% agreed that euthanasia is morally wrong, and 36% agreed that artificial birth control is morally wrong.