WASHINGTON—The launch of the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Death Penalty will be announced at a news conference on Sunday, January 25, at 11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East, 4751 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, Pa., at the conclusion of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty training conference, which is being held at that location.

John Carr, Executive Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), will participate in the news conference. Also scheduled to participate are Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of the book "Dead Man Walking" on which the feature film of the same name is based, and Diann Rust-Tierney, Executive Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network, an independent entity, will collaborate with the USCCB and established abolition organizations such as the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, New Jersey Campaign Against the Death Penalty, and Murder Victims for Reconciliation. Its goal is to inform and activate Catholics about capital punishment in the United States and why its use must be ended. Building on the U.S. bishops' statements on ending the use of the death penalty, it will employ all available media to reach archdioceses and dioceses, Catholic colleges and universities, as well as Catholic high schools and elementary schools.

The media the Catholic Mobilizing Network will use include plays, walks, vigils, the Internet social site Facebook, and English and Spanish educational materials about the death penalty posted on USCCB's web site, www.usccb.org.

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