All of the Louisiana Bishops strongly oppose Governor Landry's decision to use nitrogen hypoxia to carry out the death penalty

 

A Statement from the Louisiana Catholic Bishops on Pending Executions

February 18, 2025

by LCCB

The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops have consistently defended life from conception to natural death and we remain deeply aware of the pain and grief that victims and families suffer, especially those who have lost a loved one through the crime of murder or crimes of violence.
As we continue to pray for the victims and their families, we pray that the State will not issue in a culture of death by facilitating death warrants and consider that mercy can be the highest form of justice. No method of execution is acceptable including nitrogen hypoxia (asphyxiation).

As a result of the recent efforts to restart the protocols for executions, the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following statement:

“We are saddened by the recent notice to restart the process for the issuance of death warrants to execute human beings in Louisiana. This only contributes to the culture of death. We promote a culture of life, not death, in this great State we love. As bishops, we will continue to promote life from conception to natural death and work to end the execution of another human being”.

Sincerely in Christ,
Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans
Most Rev. Michael G. Duca, Diocese of Baton Rouge
Most Rev. J. Douglas Deshotels, Diocese of Lafayette
Most Rev.  Francis I. Malone, Diocese of Shreveport
Most Rev. Robert W. Marshall, Diocese of Alexandria
Most Rev. Glen John Provost, Diocese of Lake Charles
Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, Diocesan Administrator Houma-Thibodaux

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More information and an Action Alert to write letters to the Governor is on our website at www.laccb.org under TAKE ACTION and Click On Oppose Death Warrants and Promote a Culture of Life to complete brief registration and to send letter that you can personalize. 
For further information, contact Tom Costanza at tcostanza@laccb.org or 504-874-7829.

Louisiana Bishops oppose Louisiana Governor plan to resume death-row executions

 

The Catholic bishops of Louisiana today released the following statement on the plan approved by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to resume executions for death-row prisoners. The governor announced that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections had finalized an updated protocol to carry out executions using nitrogen hypoxia.

Statement of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops

RE: Plan to Start Executions by Nitrogen Hypoxia in Louisiana

February 12, 2025

We are saddened by the recent notice to restart the process for the issuance of death warrants to execute human beings in Louisiana. This only contributes to the culture of death. We promote a culture of life, not death, in this great State we love. As bishops, we will continue to promote life from conception to natural death and work to end the execution of another human being.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans

Most Rev. Michael G. Duca, Diocese of Baton Rouge

Most Rev. J. Douglas Deshotels, Diocese of Lafayette

Most Rev. Francis I. Malone, Diocese of Shreveport

Most Rev. Robert W. Marshall, Diocese of Alexandria

Most Rev. Glen John Provost, Diocese of Lake Charles

Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, Diocesan Administrator Houma-Thibodaux

Louisiana's Catholic Governor cuts a million bucks from Acadiana Catholic Charities

 

Louisiana governor cuts $1 million for Catholic Charities homeless shelter over serving migrants

A Honduran man and his son, who had migrated to the U.S. without authorization and were recently released from detention, pass the time before beginning a bus journey to Louisiana at the Catholic Charities relief center in McAllen, Texas, April 6, 2018. Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., recently cut $1 million in state funding from Catholic Charities of Acadiana, accusing the Catholic Church's charitable arm of having a mission "to support the influx of illegal aliens into our country," a charge the Catholic ministry denied. (OSV News/Loren Elliott, Reuters)

KATE SCANLON

Gov. Jeff Landry, R-La., vetoed $1 million in state funds for an emergency homeless shelter run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana over the organization's work with migrants, he acknowledged in press statements.

Landry said that he vetoed the funds for the largest homeless shelter in Lafayette, Louisiana, because its operator, Catholic Charities of Acadiana, works with migrants. The governor, a Catholic, alleged Catholic Charities facilitates illegal immigration, a charge the Catholic Church's charitable arm denied.

In a statement provided to local media outlet KATC, Landry said, "As you can see from their website, part of Catholic Charities' mission is to support the influx of illegal aliens into our country. Taxpayers should never foot the bill for nonprofits who are contributing to the illegal immigration crisis our nation is facing."

But when accessed July 3, the Catholic Charities of Acadiana website stated, "Our Immigration Services provides low-cost legal aid services to immigrants, and newcomers to this country, all within the confines of the law."

"These services allow clients an opportunity to contribute and participate more fully in our communities," the website states, and lists legal forms they provide migrants assistance with, including Temporary Protected Status and work authorization forms.

"We affirm the inherent dignity bestowed by God on every human person, including immigrants and refugees, no matter the circumstances that compel a person to begin a new life in our community," the website states.

A spokesperson for Catholic Charities of Acadiana did not immediately respond to a request for comment from OSV News. Their CEO, Kim Boudreaux, told KATC, "The vetoed shelter appropriations are a significant setback to our pro-life efforts to care for our vulnerable neighbors experiencing homelessness."

According to KATC, Catholic Charities of Acadiana's homeless shelters serve nightly around 90 people who are homeless and are in need of food, shelter and other resources.

Landry's move comes as some elected officials have grown increasingly hostile toward nongovernmental organizations, particularly Catholic ones, that provide resources such as food and shelter to migrants, including those at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In July, a state judge denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's effort to shut down Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a Catholic nonprofit serving migrants in obedience to the Gospel, finding his office "failed to establish probable grounds for the proceedings" and violated the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

In February, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement expressing solidarity with faith-driven ministries to migrants.

"It is hard to imagine what our country would look like without the good works that people of faith carry out in the public square," Rhoades said. "For this, we can thank our strong tradition of religious liberty, which allows us to live out our faith in full."

Archbishop Aymond remind Louisiana Catholics of the LCCB position on the death penalty which is opposed to the public pronouncements of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry

 

We must affirm the culture of life in Louisiana

It is with much hope that the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops seeks to provide continued guidance to affirm the culture of life and end the use of the death penalty. The Life and Dignity of the Human Person is the foundation of Jesus’ teaching, and of Scripture, our tradition, and Catholic social teaching.

This is a hopeful teaching of the church and upholds our consistent life ethic that life is sacred from conception to natural death. At the same time, we continue to pray for the victims and their families and for their healing and for an end to violence in our communities.

As a Church, we accompany our brothers and sisters, children, parents and loved ones as we see them suffer from the heinous and violent actions of others. Only God can console them, yet we offer what comfort we can with our presence and prayer. The healing that comes from forgiveness has been a powerful force in the lives of many families who have experienced violence. Through our varied ministries, we offer counseling, personal support and the grace of the sacraments to assist in the healing process. Our ministry of healing and forgiveness is rooted in Jesus’ command to “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).

Prior statements by the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops include “Let Justice and Mercy Meet” in 2002 and, in April 2017, “It’s Time to Affirm Life Without Exception: The Death Penalty is Not Acceptable.” Since then, there has continued to be work by faithful Catholic laity and church leadership to affirm the culture of life.

St. John Paul II made it clear that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform.

In 2018, Pope Francis officially updated the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” calling capital punishment “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and deeming it “inadmissible” in all cases. We must always keep the Catholic principles of restorative justice in mind: supporting and restoring the victim’s family; making the offender accountable for his crime; and protecting the wider community.

The death penalty is a pro-life issue, and the church has been consistent in advocating for its abolition. There are ways to protect society without resorting to capital punishment, as St. John Paul II has called us to this understanding. As Catholics, we are aware of the deeper reality of the depth of mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and that mercy is the ultimate fulfillment of justice.

The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops formulates public policy positions through a board of directors consisting of the Archbishop of New Orleans and the bishops of the six other Catholic dioceses in Louisiana.