The expansion of the death penalty under recently approved Israeli legislation has raised serious legal, human rights, and moral concerns. In response, on Friday 17 July at 2:00 pm (Brussels time), Pax Christi International and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel co-organised a webinar to examine the law from both legal and ethical perspectives. 

During the webinar, participants heard from Dr. Suhad Bishara, Adalah’s Legal Director, who explained the law’s provisions, its implications under international law, and its potential impact on Palestinians.  

Participants also heard statements from Catholic leaders, building on the Catholic Leaders and Organisations’ Call to Protect Palestinian Life under Occupation.

The petition remains open for Catholic leaders who wish to add their support to the call. All Catholic leaders and authorised representatives of Catholic organisations who wish to endorse this appeal for the protection of Palestinian lives are invited to complete this form.

 

Agenda

  • Moderation by Giulia Bordin, PCI Advocacy officer 
  • Introduction by Martha Ines Romero, PCI Secretary General 
  • Opening reflection: H.E. Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem
  • Q&A  

 

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Speakers

🔹 His Beatitude Michel Sabbah is the Latin Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem and former President of Pax Christi International. The first Palestinian to serve as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in modern times (1987–2008), he has dedicated his ministry to promoting justice, peace, nonviolence, and dialogue in the Holy Land. Through his leadership in the Church and the peace movement, he continues to be a respected advocate for human dignity, reconciliation, and a just peace for all peoples in the region.
 

🔹 Dr. Suhad Bishara serves as Adalah’s Legal Director and has worked with Adalah since 2001. She has about 25 years of experience litigating cases before the Israeli Supreme Court and has served as lead counsel in major human rights cases concerning Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as cases involving international humanitarian law and Palestinians in the 1967 Occupied Territory before the Israeli Supreme Court. She received an LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an LL.M. in Public Service Law from New York University School of Law (USA), and a PhD from King’s College London School of Law. Suhad is leading a petition filed by Adalah, together with numerous Israeli human rights organisations and Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset, challenging the death penalty law.

Catholic Leaders

🔹 Archbishop John C. Wester is the 2026 recipient of the Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace Award. He has been the Archbishop of Santa Fe since 2015. He previously served as Bishop of Salt Lake City from 2007 to 2015 and as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco from 1998 to 2007.

He has been a strong advocate against the death penalty and for nuclear disarmament and published the Pastoral Letter “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament” in 2022.

 

🔹 Bishop Peter Cullinane was the first bishop of the Diocese of Palmerston North, New Zealand, created in 1980. He served as president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference between 1997 and 2003 and as a member of the Episcopal Board of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) between 1983 and 2003. In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 2006 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community.

🔹 Father Luis Fernando Múnera Congote, S.J., holds a degree in Philosophy from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; a Bachelor’s degree in Theology and a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Centre Sèvres in Paris.  He was dean of the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations; advisor to the academic vice-rector; and co-director of the University Planning Program on Peace and Reconciliation. He also served as associate professor of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Javeriana, where he held the position of career director. 

At the Javeriana sectional Cali he worked in social formation and coordinated the Specialisation in Ethics and Values, where he also served as professor of Ethics, Politics and Philosophy. Between 2001 and 2003, he was executive director of the Peace Program of the Society of Jesus in Colombia and has worked in the formation of Jesuits in the country. He was a member of the Board of Regents of the Javeriana from August 2012 to November 2019.