Bishop Solis: Please ‘stand against this blatant disregard for the sanctity of life’

Friday, Jul. 19, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As the State of Utah prepares to execute Taberon Honie on Aug. 8, Utah’s first execution in 14 years, I must ask all our Catholic brothers and sisters, to stand against this blatant disregard for the sanctity of life, and to urge our senators and representatives to end the cruel and inhumane practice of taking life through state-sanctioned executions. The death penalty does nothing but repay suffering with suffering. It does not provide justice, does not restore dignity, does not make us safer as a society. Any time we allow the intentional destruction of life, we destroy respect for all life.

The inherent dignity of the human person is a core tenet of Catholic teaching. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church [2267] states, “The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” At the same time, many states ban capital punishment, accepting that justice can be served by other means, including a sentence of life in prison without parole.

True justice requires meaningful opportunities for victims to be heard throughout the criminal process and provides for their physical, emotional, material, social and spiritual needs, to the greatest extent possible. It should offer survivors safe passage from disempowerment, despair, disconnection and trauma to a renewed voice, connection, meaning and faith. Until we rebuild just relationships across our communities, we will never achieve true justice. Transforming communities requires collaboration, the willingness to be honest about systemic biases and to listen, to accompany and to learn from each other. 

Justice also means encouraging those who committed the crime to acknowledge their offenses, atone for their criminal acts, and make amends. To achieve these goals, offenders need to be spiritually, mentally and emotionally well enough to fulfill their obligations to others. Reaching this point of wellness requires that offenders heal the trauma and break destructive cycles of violence that so often exist before someone becomes a violent offender.

We are called to continually pray for the victims of crime and their families and friends, that they might find peace and healing in God’s boundless love. We also must pray particularly for the soul of Claudia Benn, who Taberon Honie was convicted of murdering 25 years ago. We pray for Mr. Honie, that he, like all sinners, might find mercy in God’s eternal judgment. 

Let us also continue to pray for the people of Utah, that through our elected government, we might turn to the path that respects and defends human life from its beginning at conception to its end at a natural death.

Peace and Blessings,

Most Reverend Oscar A. Solis, D.D.

Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City