Now comes Most Reverend Thomas L Dupre, D.D. and, on oath, says as follows:

I serve as the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield. I reside at 68 Elliot Street in Springfield. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield encompasses the four western counties of Massachusetts: Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire. In that area, my principal responsibility is to proclaim the authentic teachings of my Church. I do this through a network of 142 parishes and mission churches, 28 Catholic elementary schools and 4 Catholic high schools. In addition to our Catholic schools, we have an extensive religious education program that serves 33,000 children. We also communicate with the entire community through a bi-weekly newspaper. The Catholic Observer, which has a circulation reaching 14,000 households and weekly television programs that are viewed in 20,000 households. Our Church exists to serve its people and the entire community by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. In the area served by the Diocese of Springfield. There are over 300,000 Catholics.

Our Church has a strong teaching concerning the value of human life. We believe and teach human life is to be valued and protected from the very moment of conception until the time of natural death. That belief includes strong opposition to capital punishment. Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke movingly about our opposition to capital punishment in St. Louis in 1999, when he said, "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 denying criminals the chance to reform. . . . I renew the appeal . . . to end the death penalty which is both cruel and unnecessary.

We live in a violent culture. As Catholics our community believes and teaches to all that will listen that the only way to counter this violence is to strengthen support for all human life. This respect for life extends to all the vulnerable, the unborn and even to someone convicted of a series of terrible crimes. The taking of a human life is a horrific act and a crime of inestimable wrong. Murder, in any and every form must be punished. We do not believe it will be deteterred by the violence of capital punishment. Capital punishment by the state, we believe, simply involves all of us in the death of another person. Violence begets violence.

Our Church community believes the death penalty solves no problem. It, in fact, renders us evermore callous as a society to all human life. It encourages in us a mentality of revenge. It fosters a "culture of death," the danger of which the Holy Father and our Church has spoken out against vigorously

The Catholic community of Western Massachusetts opposes the violence of capital punishment and teaches its people and the entire community to cherish and respect all human life as a precious gift from God that is His alone to take.

Most Reverend Thomas L. Dupre, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, March 22, 2001

Provided to attorneys for Kristen Gilbert for filing with the court.