PRO-LIFE advocates are set to hold a “candlelight walk” to oppose plans to revive the death penalty.
In a press conference yesterday, organizers of the “Candlelight Walk for Life” announced that more than 1,000 people will be joining their procession from Plaza Sugbu to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral this Saturday afternoon.
Dr. Rene Bullecer, a pro-life advocate and vice president for Visayas of the Sangguniang Laiko sa Pilipinas, told reporters that they oppose the death penalty not only because it is a cruel and an unusual punishment, but also because it is anti-poor.
Fr. Eligio Suico, chairman of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission on Family and Life, said they also condemn the national government’s anti-drug campaign, which has led to the deaths of drug addicts and pushers.
Meanwhile, a member of the Catholic Faith Defenders in Cebu condemned the Catholic Bishops Conference in the Philippines (CBCP) for stopping efforts to revive the death penalty.
Lawyer Marcelo Bacalso criticized Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and other members of CBCP for opposing the death penalty.
Bacalso claimed that the Catholic Church “supported” the imposition of capital punishment, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church that was approved by the late Pope (now saint) John Paul II and the catechism of the Council of Trent.
In Section 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the death penalty is not an excluded recourse effectively defending human lives against unjust aggression.
But it also states that if non-lethal means are sufficient and available, authorities must limit themselves to it in conformity to the dignity of the human being.