October 1 marks the first day of Respect Life Month. Celebrated each October in the U.S. Catholic Church, Respect Life Month is an invitation to reflect more deeply on the God-given dignity of all human life. During this month, Catholics across the United States recommit themselves to uplifting this core tenet of our faith: the belief that every life is sacred.
The death penalty falls squarely on the continuum of life issues. Taking the life of any person—innocent or guilty—is an affront to the sanctity of life. Such valuing of life is especially challenged this month, when the first execution under the tenure of Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe is set to take place on October 14. The state is set to execute Lance Shockley for the murder of Sergeant Carl Dwayne Graham, a Missouri State Trooper.
Even in the face of grave harm, our Catholic faith teaches that every person is created by God with an inalienable dignity. No matter the harm one has caused or suffered, no life is beyond redemption. As Pope Leo XIV recently said during a General Audience, “There is no past so ruined, no history so compromised that it cannot be touched by God’s mercy… No place is too far away, no heart is too closed, no tomb too tightly sealed for His love.”
Further details of the Church’s opposition to capital punishment, as well as details regarding Archbishop Rivituso’s (formerly auxiliary bishop of St. Louis) recent visit with Lance Shockley, can be found here via the Vatican News website. If you would like to contact Governor Kehoe regarding Mr. Shockley’s execution, you can reach his office via phone at (573) 751-3222 or email him here.