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Many people are familiar with the phrase "For whom does the bell toll?," as well as the answer , "It tolls for thee." In the case of this campaign, the bells do toll for thee and for every person who is executed in this country. For Whom the Bell Tolls (FWBT) is a national initiative to have religious organizations throughout the country toll their bells whenever there is an execution. By 2004 FWBT had places of worship tolling the bells in every state including Hawaii and Alaska. The bells also tolled in the Philippines. We are hopeful that everyone is still tolling the bells and long for the day when the bells will go silent because the death penalty is no longer used. Sister Dorothy Briggs, OP was the founding force behind this movement. In 2004 Sr. Dorothy had to retire from her FWBT work. She left it in the capable hands of Ms. Madeline Murphy who resides in New Jersey. Madeline continues the work in attracting more communities of faith to join the effort to end capital punishment by tolling the bells when an execution is to take place. The tolling bells will be a reminder to all who hear them, that all of us are diminished by continuing acts of state-sponsored murder. The churches, abbeys, monasteries, temples and synagogues that join in this effort will go a long way toward stopping the death penalty in this country. The campaign will continue until there is a moratorium on the death penalty or until the death penalty is abolished in this country. For Whom the Bell Tolls has been organized by Citizens United for the Rehabilitation or Errants (CURE). This is an organization whose work is to lobby for bills that will make a more humane prison system for the millions of prisoners all over the country. You may want to check their web site to find more information. Dominicans of St. Catharine, Kentucky have been a sponsor and
participant of this movement from its beginning. |
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| "We must unite to make the world more
aware of the inhumanity and immorality of the death
penalty." Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, August 3, 2000 For Whom the Bell Tolls Web site Scheduled Executions -- What Can You Do? |
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