1979 - Pope John Paul II in Ireland 
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Friday, May 06, 2005
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Sister Helen Prejean author of "The Death of Innocents
Pope John Paul II was very much against the death penalty, so much so, that in his 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life ("Evangelium Vitae") he removed the criteria of grave or grievous crime therefore making the Catholic Church stand against the death penalty absolute. In the Catholic catechism it shows up as an omission so many Catholics do not know this.
Sister Helen Prejean author of Dead Man Walking discussed her new book "The Death of Innocents" on Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. It was a very eye-opening conversation.
Since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated, more than 900 people have been executed since that time. 117 people - mostly poor and African American - have been released from death row, and completely exonerated due to activist groups intervening and digging up evidence or witness' proving the person's innocence. If not for the work of these activist groups, the appeals court would have, no doubt, found these innocent people guilty. It makes one wonder how many of the executed people may have been found innocent.
In one particularly sad case, Dobie Gillis Williams, an African-American with an I.Q. of 65 was executed and Sr. Helen Prejean points out the evidence were destroyed after the man's death, making it impossible to prove his innocence after the fact. Not to mention the man's lawyer was disbarred later, and no forensic investigation took place at all.
Pope John Paul II raises his hands as he arrives in Consistorical Hall for an audience of of the Cardinals of the Sacred College October, 1978 in Vatican City Image by Bettmann/CORBIS
"To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others."
-- Pope John Paul II (b. 1920), [Karol Wojtyla] Roman Catholic leader, head of the church
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
October, 1979 - Boston, Massachusets. Pope John Paul II standing up through a moon roof in a Presidential limousine guarded by US Secret Service. Image by Wally McNamee/CORBIS
Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia walks beside Pope John Paul II on October 4, 1979 after departing a Ukranian Church in Philadelphia PA.
Grant Park - Pope John Paul II celebrating Mass for an estimated 1.5 million.
October 5, 1979 Chicago, IL
Have no fear of moving into the unknown. "Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence." -- Pope John Paul II
"Faced with today's problems and disappointments, many people will try to escape from their responsibility. Escape in selfishness, escape in sexual pleasure, escape in drugs, escape in violence, escape in indifference and cynical attitudes. I propose to you the option of love, which is the opposite of escape." -- Pope John Paul II
* Said during his first visit to the US in 1979. Source
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