VATICAN CITY/USA:  Group Asks Vatican to Condemn Executions

 A U.S. group that seeks to halt the death penalty and life sentences for juveniles took its cause to Pope John Paul II on Wednesday, seeking a Vatican declaration that condemns the prosecution of children as adults.

 he Rev. Thomas Masters of Under Our Wings, based in Riviera Beach, Fla., had a brief meeting with the pope following the pontiff's weekly general audience.

 Masters said he asked John Paul to help stop execution and life sentences for people who commit crimes as children.

 "I told the pope everything I could tell him in a moment," Masters said.

 Masters, who led a 34-person mission to Rome, became a juvenile advocate when a member of his congregation, 13-year-old Nathaniel Brazill, was prosecuted as an adult for fatally shooting a Lake Worth, Fla., teacher in 2000. Brazill was sentenced to 28 years in prison for 2nd-degree murder.

 Brazill's mother, Polly Powell, was part of the Under Our Wings delegation to the Vatican.

 John Paul is a strong opponent of the death penalty. The Vatican would not comment Wednesday on a possible declaration.

 Some states allow execution of people who committed crimes while younger than 18. Under Our Wings says other countries with similar policies include Iran and Pakistan.

VATICAN CITY: Pontifical Council Backs U.S. Groups Opposed to Death Penalty

The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace gave his support to a U.S. delegation of movements that oppose the death penalty and work to reform the judicial system for minors.

Archbishop Renato Martino shared with the members of the delegation the Catholic Church's teaching on the right to life and religious freedom.

He emphasized the importance of defending human life from conception until natural death, as reflected in the principles discussed in the encyclical "Evangelium Vitae," according to Vatican Radio.

The delegation, which was received recently at the Roman headquarters of the pontifical council, included, among others, the Reverend Thomas Masters, president of the organization Under Our Wings; Vincent Schiraldi, president of the Justice Police Institute; and Renny Cushing, executive director of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation.

Also attending the meeting were the parents of some people who were executed and of minors confined as adults in U.S. prisons.