After many months of public condemnation of PNG's revived and expanded death penalty laws, Archbishop Young says Church leaders are now looking at hosting a national and international coalition to lobby against the laws, and to have them repealed.

13 men are on death row and, according to the media, "have very few days left". "It is unlikely they will see another Christmas", said the "The National" newspaper on January 27

On 29 January the fate of the 13 men, five of whom were sentenced to death for wilful murder and the other eight with "crimes of piracy" became more urgent when Fides, the international information service of Pontifical Mission Societies reported claims in The Nation, that the men "only have a few days left."

Source

• SydneyCatholic.org.
• Fides
• Image: Amnesty.org.nz

Archbishop Douglas Young of Mt. Hagen said that while the Attorney General had noted that there had been widespread debate in the public forum he did not say who had won the debate.

He noted that discussion in the media, the social media, and in other open forums was informative, addressing the main issues that have been covered in other nations.

Young said, "There have also been unsavoury aspects to this debate, such as the speculation on the best way to kill someone.

"The one thing missing from the debate was any evidence whatsoever that the death penalty will deter violent crime," he said.

Fr.Victor Roche, the general secretary of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, said, "It is indeed a sad day for the country when the Parliamentarians decided to give the death penalty for its own citizens. We do agree that the leaders want to put a stop to merciless killing of innocent people especially of rape, sorcery and murder. It is true that the people of this country also want the law and order situation to be brought under control. But Death Penalty is not the solution."

Roche gave three reasons why the Catholic Church does not support the death penalty:

1. It is against the Bible and Christian principles

2. The death penalty has not decreased the crime rate in those countries where it is carried out.

3. Who is going to execute the convicted criminals in PNG?

"We welcome the idea of higher penalties for abduction, murder, misuse of funds over K5 million etc. The Parliamentarians are giving the signal to the offenders that the governement is serious about bringing down crime and corruption in the country," said Roche.

• Read the full text of the statements on The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea website
• Image: EliteDaily.com