by Sean O’Malley

About the author: Sean O’Malley is a Catholic bishop in Fall River, Massachusetts.

The Holy Father Pope John Paul II has challenged us to begin the new millennium with a renewed commitment to the Gospel of life. An important way that we can promote the civilization of love in the new millennium is to call for the abolishment of the death penalty. Our task is to work for a more just society and for real solutions to alleviate crime and violence in our communities. The more respect we have for life, the safer our communities will become.

In a growing culture of death, devoid of morality, we face the life-threatening issues such as abortion, immoral genetic practices and experimentation, civil strife, nuclear war, ethnic conflicts, euthanasia and capital...