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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."

CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.

During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.

O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an endless war," he said.

Regarding the children who are suffering the consequences of the war in Gaza, Pope Francis said that "every afternoon at 7 p.m. I call the parish in Gaza. There are about 600 people there, and they tell me what's happening. It's very hard. Very, very hard. And food comes in, but they have to struggle to get it. It's very hard," he lamented. The pope also assured that he prays a lot for peace to be achieved.

The pontiff also asked people to think about the children of Ukraine, who due to the war "forget how to smile," which he described as "very serious."

In the interview, Pope Francis also talked about climate change and said that those who deny it do so "because they don't understand it or for what benefits them," and stressed that "climate change exists."

Regarding those who don't see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore, the Holy Father responded that in the Church "there is always a place," noting that "the Church is very big. It's more than a church building … you shouldn't flee from it."

Pope Francis' controversial 'white flag' statements

When referring to the conflict in Ukraine during an interview released in March by the Swiss radio station RSI, Pope Francis said: "I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates."

The words sparked some controversy, as they were interpreted as a call for Ukraine's surrender to Russia and had to be clarified by the spokesman for the Holy See's Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

The Vatican spokesman clarified that the Holy Father supported "a cessation of hostilities and a truce achieved with the courage to negotiate," rather than Ukraine's outright surrender.

Bruni also pointed out that it was the journalist interviewing the pontiff who had used the term "white flag" when asking the question.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

San Francisco police arrested a homeless man last Sunday for allegedly stabbing a parent from a nearby Catholic school after an altercation involving the two outside a historic Catholic church in the city. 

Twenty-five-year-old Marko Asaulyuk of San Francisco was charged with attempted murder and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

The Catholic school father, who was released from the hospital Sunday, only suffered a minor injury to his leg, Father Tho Bui, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, told CNA Thursday in an email.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was conferring the sacrament of confirmation on the parish school's students and students from a nearby parish during a noon Mass when a "disruptive man" entered the church, as Bui described him.

The man was walking up and down the main aisle of the church holding a bottle of wine, ABC7 reported. 

Bui said a group of parishioners and parents told the disruptive man to leave the church and escorted him out. ABC7 reported that the man was speaking with someone outside the church and said "Jesus is not real."

A "scuffle" then occurred on the sidewalk and that's when the man stabbed the parent in the leg, according to the priest.

The suspect, who was reported to be homeless, was arrested the same day, Bui said. Police said when they arrived at the scene, aid was given to the victim, who was brought to the hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries."

Witnesses helped the police locate the suspect, police said. 

Bui called the incident "sad" and "extremely disturbing" but noted "the good news is that the criminal is behind bars, charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and is being held without bail."

"Very likely, by getting him off the streets, our parishioners and dads prevented something even worse from happening," he said. "But this is just the latest in an unending series of incidents caused by our city government's tolerance of crime and mentally ill people on the streets."

"It's not specific to Sts. Peter and Paul. We saw in the news just this past week that the nurses at SF General [Hospital] and the librarians at our public libraries are demanding more protection from exactly the kind of incidents we had on Sunday," he said. 

"Like SF General and the public libraries, we are open every single day. The mission of Jesus Christ requires it! While both our school and club can, and do, fulfill their missions while having gates and doors locked, the Church cannot," Bui said.

CNA reached out to the archdiocese for comment but did not receive a response. 

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Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May.

Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June.

Del Grande's motion was defeated at the April 23 board meeting when only Garry Tanuan supported Del Grande's motion. The eight other board members in attendance and the two student trustees opposed his proposal.

Though Del Grande could not muster enough backing from his colleagues, his plan, which would have also directed all TCDSB schools to teach an exclusively pro-life curriculum on May 9, the day of the National March for Life, garnered boisterous audience support.

Defying repeated entreaties from chair Nancy Crawford to remain silent, spectators cheered when listening to Del Grande, Tanuan, and two guest delegates' statements supporting the motion. And when Angela Kennedy signaled her intent to vote against the motion early into her prepared remarks, she was drowned out by protests. One male attendee continually uttered: "We answer to Jesus Christ."

Crawford concurred that "we do answer to Jesus Christ," but she told the man he must be quiet or he would be escorted from the building by security. Attendees ignored the warning and the objections continued, forcing Crawford to pause the meeting for 10 minutes to calm the situation.

Upon resuming the proceedings, Crawford appealed to the audience's "sense of kindness, charity, and generosity" not to interrupt the meeting again, saying otherwise it would lead to the call for security to remove everyone from the gallery.

The crowd initially complied, remaining silent as Kennedy gave her speech and trustee Maria Rizzo delivered her dissent to the motion.

However, the tension in the room elevated when trustees voted against the motion. Those disappointed by the outcome admonished the board by repeatedly shouting "shame," and Crawford ordered security to escort all the visitors from the building as "they are not prepared to remain silent."

The speeches in favor or against flying the pro-life flag were overshadowed to an extent by the controversy surrounding the audience's conduct. Nevertheless, both sides conveyed passionate arguments.

Del Grande shared what the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the recent Dignitas Infinita declaration released by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith state about the sanctity of life and abortion. Dignitas Infinita warned that "today, in many people's consciences, the perception of [abortion's] gravity has become progressively obscured. The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behavior, and even in law itself is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake."

Del Grande said he "could think of no legitimate reason why this motion shouldn't pass unanimously. We're a pro-life board, and I expect you will vote in favor of my motion so that TCDSB does its part to vigorously defend the most marginalized and victimized group in this country, namely children in the womb who are killed at a rate of 100,000 annually."

Tanuan suggested pro-life Canadians would revere the International Pro-Life Flag as a symbol denoting "safety, truth, and hope" and would deliver the comparable empowering impact as would an Indigenous child or adult seeing the Every Child Matters flag.

Rizzo, in her response, said the motion shows how "the school board has become a kind of locus of controversy." She contended that the critical difference between the decision to fly the Pride flag and the pro-life flag motion is the former was "student-driven."

Kennedy said the motion amounts to "a kind of indoctrination" that is at odds with the Ministry of Education's expectation "that each student will achieve academically, socially, spiritually, and will be the Ontario graduate who will be successful on the global stage." 

She also argued that the TCDSB has "well-rounded Catholic graduate expectations, and this motion, if passed, would destroy the meaning behind these expectations and render them meaningless."

This article was first published in Canadian Catholic News and is reprinted here with permission.

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CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 10:52 am (CNA).

Following a recent Vatican declaration on human dignity, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales condemned medical and social transgenderism while encouraging a "sensitive" response in a pastoral reflection released on Wednesday.

The Vatican's doctrinal office came down strongly against gender ideology, stating that "all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected."

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales followed the Vatican's lead in their April 24 statement, "Intricately Woven by the Lord," which encouraged rooting pastoral care in "acceptance … of the body as created." 

"We cannot encourage or give support to reconstructive or drug-based medical intervention that harms the body," they wrote. "Nor can we legitimize or uphold a way of living that is not respectful of the truth and vocation of each man and each woman, called to live according to the divine plan."

"Rather, when a family or person experiencing these challenges seeks to be accompanied on their Christian journey, our aim is to help them rediscover and cherish their humanity as it was conceived and created by God, body and soul," the bishops continued.  

In the statement, the bishops specifically addressed "adult members in our Catholic communities who have chosen to transition socially and medically."

"You are still our brothers and sisters," the bishops stated. "We cannot be indifferent to your struggle and the path you may have chosen. The doors of the Church are open to you, and you should find, from all members of the Church, a welcome that is compassionate, sensitive, and respectful."

According to a 2021 census released in 2023, 0.5% of English and Welsh residents (262,000) over the age of 16 identified as transgender. An estimated 300,000 youth in the U.S. identify as transgender, and nearly one in five people who identify as transgender are between 13 and 17 years old, according to a 2022 study by the Williams Institute. 

The bishops addressed the controversial issue of medical transition for minors. England ended puberty blockers for minors in March of this year because of safety concerns. Sex changes and puberty blockers were recently "paused" in Scotland.

"Medical intervention for children should not be supported," the bishops continued. "Social 'transition' can have a formative effect on a child's development, and this should be avoided with young children."

According to a recent Mayo Clinic study, puberty blockers can cause "irreversible harm" to young boys in particular. In 2022, another study gained national attention after it found that putting children on puberty blockers causes irreversible harm to bone density. 

The bishops noted that "every person is something of a mystery — to themselves, and to others — but not to God, who fashioned each of us in secret." 

"Pastoral accompaniment must flow from an acceptance and celebration of the body as created, respect for parents as primary educators, and uphold best practice in terms of safeguarding principles," they continued. 

The bishops emphasized "discernment" and "safe relationships" in the accompaniment process. 

"Those who offer particular pastoral accompaniment to gender dysphoric persons need a clear understanding of the Catholic vision and understanding of the human person and a holistic view of human sexuality," the bishops explained, adding: "Their work should help young people 'to discern how God is calling them to find true happiness.'"

"This formation and competence is vital to ensure that the testimonies and lived experiences of those struggling with gender identity can be properly understood and responded to in a way which honors their perception of reality, particularly when painful," the statement continued. "At the same time, we are encouraged by Pope Francis to accompany others to a complete appropriation of the mystery of our human nature."

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CNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

Louisiana State Police have obtained a new search warrant to collect documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans as part of an ongoing investigation into Church abuse in that state.

State police spokesman Jacob Pucheu confirmed to CNA on Thursday that the bureau had obtained the warrant as part of its investigation into "numerous complaints of child sexual abuse" leveled at the archdiocese. The inquiry was first launched in 2022, he said.

"As part of the ongoing investigation, on Monday, April 22, 2024, SVU investigators obtained an additional search warrant to collect information and documents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans," Pucheu told CNA.

"The archdiocese is cooperating with investigators to fulfill the terms of the search warrant," he said. "This investigation remains ongoing with no further information available at this time."

Pucheu declined to directly provide a copy of the warrant, saying that "since it is under investigation, it is not readily available."

The archdiocese itself did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday morning.

The warrant comes as state police are investigating retired priest Lawrence Hecker, who was indicted in September on felony charges related to allegations that he raped an underage teenage boy in the 1970s.

A team of forensic experts this week said Hecker, who is 92, is presently unfit to stand trial due to short-term memory loss, though the experts said the accused priest could stand trial at a later date.

Prosecutors earlier this year had vowed to proceed with Hecker's trial amid doubts of his competency. Orleans Parish First Assistant District Attorney Ned McGowan promised to "roll him in on a gurney" to try him.

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, with Archbishop Gregory Aymond pointing to financial pressure from clergy sex abuse claims as the driving force behind the reorganization.

"The prospect of more abuse cases with associated prolonged and costly litigation, together with pressing ministerial needs and budget challenges, is simply not financially sustainable," the prelate said at the time.

Last year the archdiocese said it would ask "parishes, schools, and ministries" for monetary contributions in order to protect diocesan assets during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The archbishop had previously said that "parishes, schools, and ministries" would not be affected by the filing.

But "this is no longer the case," Aymond said last year, "because of many external factors now facing us, including the fact that the law governing the statute of limitations has changed to now permit the filing of past abuse claims in civil court."

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 25, 2024 / 07:22 am (CNA).

Pope Francis is reportedly considering returning to the United States in September to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.

The news was initially reported by the French Catholic newspaper La Croix and has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican. A source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, meanwhile, told CNA this week that "a formal invitation has arrived from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Pope Francis seems inclined to respond positively."

If the New York trip occurs, the pope would visit the United Nations during its "Summit of the Future," which the international body will convene from Sept. 22 to 23.

The possible trip to the United States could change the pope's already-busy September travel schedule. The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will be in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore from Sept. 2-13.

Pope Francis is also expected at the end of September in Belgium, where he is scheduled to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the University of Louvain, which has been divided into two different linguistic entities since the 1960s. The Holy Father told Mexican television network Televisa last December that he intended to travel to Belgium in 2024.

According to a source familiar with the planning of papal trips, Pope Francis' trip to Louvain could be postponed to 2025. The postponement of the journey would leave room at the end of September for the visit to the United Nations.

During his planned stay in Belgium, Pope Francis will also celebrate Mass at the national shrine of Koelkenberg. There are also rumors that the pontiff will stop in Luxembourg, one of the small nations favored by the pope for trips to Europe. Luxembourg officials have denied the visit, but the Vatican Secretariat of State has indicated the trip is possible

The September summit's objective is to strengthen the structures of the United Nations and global "governance" to face more fully the "new and old challenges" of the coming years, the UN has said. 

The meeting will lead a "pact for the future" to advance rapidly toward realizing the UN's "Sustainable Development Goals."

In a meeting with students in April, Pope Francis described the summit as "an important event," with the Holy Father urging students to help ensure the plan "becomes concrete and is implemented through processes and actions for change."

Pope Francis, who is 87, has undergone two surgeries in the last four years and is under regular medical screening. A planned trip to Abu Dhabi to participate in the COP28 meeting was canceled last December due to health reasons. 

The pope was last in the United States in 2015, during which he also appeared before the United Nations.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 11:06 am (CNA).

The CEO of Cisco Systems signed the Vatican's artificial intelligence ethics pledge on Wednesday, becoming the latest technology giant to join the Church's call for ethical and responsible use of AI.

Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate, met privately with Pope Francis on April 24 before signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

The document, first published by the pontifical academy in February 2020, has previously been signed by Microsoft President Brad Smith and IBM Executive John Kelly III.

The Rome Call underlines the need for "algor-ethics," which, according to the text, is the ethical use of artificial intelligence according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

The text quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in pointing to the equal dignity and rights of all humans, which AI must protect and guarantee, it says, while calling equally for the "benefit of humanity and the environment."

It states there are three requirements for "technological advancement to align with true progress for the human race and respect for the planet" — it must be inclusive, have the good of humankind at its core, and care for the planet with a highly sustainable approach.

Robbins said that "the Rome Call principles align with Cisco's core belief that technology must be built on a foundation of trust at the highest levels in order to power an inclusive future for all." 

Years before the widely popular release of the GPT-4 chatbot system, developed by the San Francisco start-up OpenAI, the Vatican was already heavily involved in the conversation of artificial intelligence ethics, hosting high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence in 2016 and 2020.

The pope established the RenAIssance Foundation in April 2021 as a Vatican nonprofit foundation to support anthropological and ethical reflection of new technologies on human life.

Pope Francis also chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI.

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CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Catholics Charities Corporation in Ohio was found partially negligent this week in the 2017 death of a 5-year-old boy who was being supervised by one of the organization's caseworkers at the time he died.

A jury in Cuyahoga County ruled in the wrongful death suit that the Catholic charity group was 8% responsible for Jordan Rodriguez's September 2017 death, local media reported. Rodriguez's body was discovered buried in his mother's backyard three months after he died.

The boy's mother and her boyfriend earlier pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from his death, including involuntary manslaughter. Jordan was developmentally disabled and incapable of speaking.

In the civil wrongful death trial this week, Catholic Charities Corporation was ordered to pay $960,000 into Jordan Rodriguez's estate. Several other defendants, including the boy's mother and the county's Department of Child and Family Services, were also found responsible. 

A caseworker contracted by the organization, Nancy Caraballo, had been assigned to Rodriguez's case and was supposed to be checking on the boy, but she falsified reports and took bribes in connection with a food stamp scheme instead.

Caraballo had previously pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to three years in prison, though she ultimately served only eight months. She was ordered to pay $240,000 in the civil case this week. 

The lawsuit had argued in part that the Catholic charity organization had failed to properly train and supervise Caraballo and thus failed to detect the false reports she had filed. 

Richard Blake, an attorney representing Catholic Charities Corporation in the case, told CNA on Wednesday that there is "an active gag order prohibiting us from going into any detail or making any comments about the matter."

"There's still another portion of the law that permits punitive damages," he said. A court date is set for next week, he added. 

Catholic Charities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. 

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CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

As euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized in more jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world, one Catholic-focused ministry is promoting end-of-life resources that the group's founder says will help Catholics finish their earthly journeys while remaining faithful.

Aging with Dignity, a nonprofit that for years has been promoting end-of-life support in line with Church teaching, announced this month the release of "Finishing Life Faithfully," a booklet that "makes complex end-of-life decisions easier." The materials address "basic questions" on how to approach end-of-life topics such as pain management, feeding tubes, and other matters surrounding death.

The document "summarizes the Catholic Church's guidance on end-of-life decision-making and the ethical considerations involved and helps patients and families better understand these teachings and follow them," the group said this month.

Jim Towey, the founder and CEO of Aging with Dignity who previously served as legal counsel to Mother Teresa, told CNA this week that he launched the nonprofit in 1996 "to give people a hopeful vision for end of life that helps them practice their faith and that doesn't treat dying like it's just a medical moment."

For years Aging With Dignity has distributed its "Five Wishes" legal document, which helps Catholics and others "express [their] wishes ahead of a serious illness." A form of what's known as an "advanced directive," Towey said it lets the faithful "address their personal, emotional, and spiritual needs" before the final weeks and days of their lives.

The Five Wishes program has been immensely popular; the group has distributed over 40 million copies of the guide in 33 languages. But, Towey said, "it needed a companion guide to help Catholics understand what the Church teaches on feeding tubes, anointing of the sick, hospice, and pain management."

Towey said he spent all of last year working with various collaborators, including priests, to develop the guide. The group says the document offers "a positive vision of care at the end of life that contrasts with the euthanasia/assisted suicide movements."

The guide provides information on the ethical questions that often surround end-of-life concerns. It notes, for instance, that Catholics "can take or increase pain medication to lessen suffering" even if such medication might hasten the onset of death, so long as "death is not willed as either an end or a means."

Elsewhere it notes that Catholics are not "obliged to accept or continue every medical intervention available" and that waiving "disproportionate medical treatments" that promise "only a precarious or painful extension of life" is "not the equivalent of suicide or euthanasia."

The organization distributes the materials through more than 5,000 distributing organizations, including health care providers, churches, and employers. Individuals often request the documents to distribute to family or friends.

Both euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalized in more and more jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and Western Europe. Assisted suicide is legal in nine U.S. states and under consideration in several more. Numerous countries, meanwhile, allow euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, including Canada, Belgium, Spain, and several others. 

Towey said when he founded the organization nearly 30 years ago, there were already warning signs on the horizon regarding those deadly procedures.

"What I saw back in 1996 were the clouds gathering in favor of assisted suicide," he said. "Now the storms have begun." 

"We're seeing more and more people, including Catholics, deceived by the arguments in favor of assisted suicide," he said.

Both the advanced directive and the end-of-life guide have been touted by U.S. Church leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdioceses of New York and Boston. O'Malley described the documents as "grounded in the primacy of protecting God's gift of life."

Of the group's end-of-life advocacy, meanwhile, Towey told CNA: "We're just getting started."

"Assisted suicide isn't the solution," he said. "Good end-of-life care and healthy family discussions are."

"The Church needs to make this easier for families. We don't make it easy for them to access some of this information," he said.

"The Church needs to help people in this critical transition in their life to eternity, to remain faithful and to be assured by the accompaniment of the Church."

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CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 15:15 pm (CNA).

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond this week asked the Supreme Court to halt the execution of a condemned man whose death sentence has been criticized by an archbishop and other Catholic advocates. 

Drummond announced the filing on his website on Tuesday. In his petition to the Supreme Court the attorney general detailed "why the execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip should be halted and his conviction remanded back to district court."

Glossip was first convicted in 1998 for allegedly ordering a handyman at a motel Glossip managed to murder the motel's owner. Glossip was largely convicted on the handyman's testimony.

Since his initial conviction, two independent investigations have uncovered serious problems with his trial, including allegations of police misconduct and what were reportedly incorrect instructions given to the jury in the case. Prosecutors had also reportedly failed to correct false testimony in Glossip's trial. 

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Glossip's death sentence in April of last year, even though the state had previously admitted error and asked the appeals court to overturn the sentence. Drummond called that decision "remarkable and remarkably flawed."

By "dismissing this extraordinary confession by the state," Drummond's office said this week, the appeals court engaged in a "flawed whitewashing of federal constitutional violations."

The court should "vacate the judgment of conviction and order a new trial" for Glossip, Drummond's filing said. 

Archbishop: Court's review 'offers hope'

The U.S. Supreme Court announced in January that it would review Glossip's case. At the time, Oklahoma Archbishop Paul Coakley told CNA that the high court's decision "offers hope in furthering the cause toward one day abolishing the death penalty."

"With new evidence and the state of Oklahoma's admission of errors in the case prompting the Supreme Court review — issues that seem to be more and more prevalent — we can clearly see reason to reconsider institutionalized violence against the incarcerated as we hopefully move to respect the dignity of life for all human persons," Coakley told CNA. 

The Death Penalty Information Center says on its website that Oklahoma has the highest number of executions per capita of any U.S. state since the death penalty's reinstitution in 1976. It is second only to Texas in total number of inmates put to death.

Glossip's case has drawn support from other anti-death penalty Catholics. Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, said last year that Glossip "should not be put to death … not ever." 

"No state should have the power to take the lives of its citizens," she said at the time. "As we see in Mr. Glossip's case, the system is too broken, too cruel, too disrespecting of human dignity."

"We give thanks to God that Richard Glossip has been granted a temporary stay of execution," Vaillancourt Murphy said shortly thereafter, "and we pray the Supreme Court decides to formally take up his case."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, reflecting an update promulgated by Pope Francis in 2018, describes the death penalty as "inadmissible" and an "attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person" (No. 2267).

St. John Paul II, meanwhile, called the death penalty "cruel and unnecessary" and encouraged Christians to be "unconditionally pro-life." 

The former pope argued that "the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil."

This is not the first time Glossip's case has been to the highest court in the land. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court in Glossip v. Gross ruled that lethal injections using midazolam to kill prisoners on death row do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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