Last night was an exciting for Franklin, TN.

OK, It's possible that it was just an exciting night for me in Franklin, but you get the idea. You see, last night the parish council of St. Matthew Church passed a moratorium resolution! This wasn't a church that we'd done a lot of work with, in fact we'd done almost no previous work there, so I was fairly nervous going into speak to the council.

For one thing, it's a fairly large council (about 20 people), and for another Franklin is not noted for its progressive leanings. But we started out by talking about the recent statement against the death penalty by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and there was almost no argument against it. We discussed the death penalty's lack of deterrent power and the fact that it does not bring healing to victims. And, who'da thunk it? The vote was unanimous.

Now I'd like to attribute this to my oratorical prowess, but I'm afraid that that would not be fair or honest. I would like to share, however, what I've found to be the proper "frame" for the issue of the death penalty for Catholic communities.

OK! So Imagine a frame with four sides (top, left, right, and bottom) consisting of Innocence, Protection of Society, Targeting the Poor, and the Teaching of the Pope and the USCCB. The issue of innocence is a resounding one and one that is probably the most effective issue with people across the board; even if you support the death penalty, you probably don't want to kill innocent people (there are some rare exceptions here).

The Catholic teaching on the death penalty has been a slowly evolving one. The death penalty is permitted in cases where there is no other way to protect society. In America today, the prison system, and long prison terms, are perfectly capable of protecting society from violent people, and thus the Church now calls for abolition in America. Non-Catholics are likewise concerned with public safety, so addressing the issue of protection is critical to any discussion of capital punishment.

One of the central tenants of Catholic Social Doctrine is a preferential option for the poor. Put simply, any decision we make as a society must prioritize the good of the poor. Throughout the Gospels, Christ refers to the poor continually. The arbitrariness and economic bias of the death penalty clearly fails this test.

Finally, Church teachings are central to speaking to religious groups. Grounding your discussion in faith immediately places abolition on the moral high ground where it belongs. This is true also with the United Methodist, Presbyterian, or any other of the many denominations that have taken positions against the death penalty.

Hopefully we'll be able to apply this frame with many more successes in the common weeks and months!