Life and freedom are the gifts we receive from our Creator, and they are the quintessential qualities of our human dignity.

~ This is the underlying truth that sustains Catholic moral teaching. The consistent ethic of life, which Cardinal Bernardin advocated, is based on this concept of human dignity, that every human life is sacred and inviolable.

For the sake of the security of society, we may revoke certain freedoms and incarcerate criminals. We may punish by bloodless means.

But for the sake of human dignity, and in the hope of redemption and grace, we ought not to take human life; not even the guiltiest.

"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary."

- Pope John Paul II