SECTION: MN ; Pg. A9

LENGTH: 519 words

HEADLINE: Bishops Urge Criminal Justice Reform;

Call for end to mandatory sentences, death penalty and 'three strikes'

SOURCE: Baltimore Sun

DATELINE: Washington

BODY:
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops called yesterday for sweeping reforms in the nation's criminal justice system, rejecting the increasing use of mandatory sentences and the death penalty and advocating an approach that includes compassion for crime victims and rehabilitation for criminals.

The bishops also approved statements during their annual fall meeting denouncing mistreatment and rejection of immigrants and encouraging Catholics to welcome them into their parishes, and a sharply worded critique of the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year overturning a Nebraska law prohibiting "partial-birth" abortion.

In a statement lamenting the unrest in the Middle East, the bishops called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Although they had previously echoed Pope John Paul II's call for a Palestinian homeland, yesterday's statement marked the bishops' explicit call for a state. The statement on criminal justice, drawn up by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, declares that the system is ignoring victims and failing to rehabilitate criminals.

"As bishops, we believe that the current trend of more prisons and more executions, with too little education and drug treatment, does not truly reflect Christian values and will not really leave our communities safer," the statement says.

The document rejects rigid mandatory sentencing and "three strikes and you're out" approaches, calling them "simplistic" and "one-size-fits-all" solutions to complex problems. The bishops deplored the increasing trend toward building prisons in remote areas, which creates hardship for the families of inmates.

"We call upon government to redirect the vast amount of public resources away from building more and more prisons and toward better and more effective programs aimed at crime prevention, rehabilitation, education efforts, substance abuse programs and programs of probation, parole and reintegration," it says.

The bishops made specific recommendations, such as calling again for the ultimate elimination of handguns, except for police and military use. But the heart of the statement is a philosophical balance between control and compassion.

"Those who harm others or damage property must be held accountable for the hurt they have caused," the statement adopted says. "At the same time, a Catholic approach does not give up on those who violate these laws. We believe that both victims and offenders are children of God."

To help implement these recommendations, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development approved $1 million in grant money to fund educational and community-based efforts to address crime and the criminal justice system.

Bishop Edward K. Braxton of St. Louis, Mo., praised the statement while warning that it may not be welcomed by Catholics in the pews, a majority of whom support the death penalty, according to surveys.

"Our Catholic people, like society as a whole, have a very strong feeling of vengeance," Braxton said. "I suggest we may not find as receptive an audience in the church as we might hope for."Newsday contributed to this report.

LOAD-DATE: March 20, 2001