The awareness of every Christian's duty to contribute to the promotion of a culture of life, has given life to the campaign "Cities for Life Against Death Penalty" of the Community of Sant'Egidio.
Every year, on November 30, which is the anniversary of the first abolition of the death penalty in a European state (the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1786), Sant'Egidio calls every city in the world to express their opposition to the death penalty, illuminating a significant place, to affirm that "there is no justice without life." The Colosseum in Rome is the first of the monuments to be illuminated, in order to say "Yes" to life. And from there, every year, our campaign goes on again.
Today, facing with the challenge of terrorism, or other social emergencies, some countries are tempted to go back, calling a justice that is not in favor of life, in the illusion that such a choice will guarantee security, that instead could been found only with peace.
But it is not a global trend. The good news is that, during the Jubilee of Mercy, more than 200 cities have been added to the number of the Cities for Life, that today are 2153. And many others are joining everyday.
For this, we renew the invitation to all Romans at the Colosseum, Wednesday, November 30, at 18:30 for a meeting which will be attended also by witnesses of the campaign against the death penalty and former prisoners from death row (the final program will be published in the coming days)
or twitting with the hashtag #nodeathpenalty
