Pope John Paul II's strong calls for abolition of the death penalty are finding echoes among more bishops -- most recently, the bishops of Missouri. The NCCB's "Living the Gospel of Life," issued in November, focused on abortion and euthanasia, but did include a strong paragraph against capital punishment. NCCB's new president, Joseph Fiorenza of Houston, Tex., publicly opposes executions in a state where they are frequent events. NCCB's new vice president, Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., gladly supplied his own remarks against capital punishment to Lena Woltering, coordinator of Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity (FOSIL), and commissioned her to speak for him at an Illinois Conference of Churches press conference seeking a moratorium on executions.

Woltering is a CTA National board member. FOSIL, a CTA cooperating regional organization, recently received its second diocesan grant for educational work opposing the death penalty. At the March 6-7 meeting of 15 regional CTA affiliates, FOSIL was one of nine local units that reported involvement in state-level advocacy against capital punishment. CTA Nebraska noted that after supporting capital punishment, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln has now joined the other bishops of the state in opposition. New England CTA announced that its spring conference April 10 in Worcester, Mass., (calendar, page 6) will include a workshop by Thomas Lowenstein, of Mass. Citizens Against the Death Penalty. He is a member of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, and is the son of former congressman and human rights activist Allard Lowenstein, who was murdered in 1980.

Sister Helen Préjean, author of "Dead Man Walking," wrote a moving "Letter from Death Row" in America magazine Feb. 13, describing the death of her friend Dobie Williams by lethal injection in Angola, La., in January. She invites all to gather signatures on a worldwide petition for a moratorium on executions in the spirit of Jubilee. A resolution will be introduced at the U.N. next year. Préjean has also agreed to address the CTA National Conference in November 2000.

Quixote Center has a model moratorium resolution your faith community or organization can adopt. QC is also distributing from the Cherish Life Circle a "Declaration of Life" by Mercy Sr. Camille D'Arienzo -- a notarized statement that if you die as a victim of murder, you do not want your murderer executed.