Applications being accepted for lay ministers program

On June 11, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, sent the following letter:

Dear Members of the Board of Pardons of the State of Utah,

I am writing to plead with you to commute the death sentence of Ronnie Lee Gardner. Only God is the author of life. We, as Catholics, hold all of life sacred from conception to natural death.

We are appalled and deeply saddened that Mr. Gardner did not hold the lives of his victims sacred and we mourn their loss and sympathize with the families. As heinous as his crimes were, we do not believe it gives the State the right to take his life now that there is the alternative of life in prison without parole.

Mr. Gardner's ability to make sound moral decisions was apparently greatly impaired due to the extensive emotional and physical abuse he received as a child as well as his use of mind-altering drugs at the age of five or six years old.

There is no question our society suffers from violence and a lack of respect for human life. Countless people in our society bear the scars of physical, sexual, emotional and psychological violence. We must all work together to find a path toward mutual respect, tolerance and forgiveness. It is my firm belief that the use of intentional killing only furthers the violence that diminishes all of us as human beings.

The Catholic Bishops of the United States in their 2000 document "Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration - A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice" underscores the responsibility of perpetrators to take responsibility for their actions. The justice system has determined that Mr. Gardner is guilty. A life sentence without the possibility of parole would give him the chance to reconcile himself with God and his fellow human beings, thus allowing him an opportunity to accept or embrace eternal salvation.

As persons of faith, we believe we should never put a period where God has put a comma. It is indeed tragic that the lives of Mr. Otterstrom and Mr. Burdell were snuffed out. I pray that the State does not continue this tragic cycle of violence by taking another human life With the State-sponsored killing of Mr. Gardner, we are underestimating God's grace and ability to bring about a change of heart that would lead Mr. Gardner to ask for forgiveness and eternal salvation. Please allow for this possibility.