BOB ABERNETHY (anchor): The fate of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has triggered a national debate over the death penalty in the religious communities. This week, more than 65 American religious leaders asked President Bush not to execute McVeigh and to impose a moratorium on all Federal executions.

Leaders of the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ, Catholics Against Capital Punishment, the Quakers, and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations signed a letter stating the pain of McVeigh's victims, of their community, and of the nation "cannot be healed through the retribution of capital punishment or by vengeance."

Last week, speaking for the U.S. Catholic Bishops, Cardinals Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and William Keeler of Baltimore reiterated the Catholic Church's longtime opposition to capital punishment, saying executing McVeigh will not bring healing or closure. Rather, the Cardinals said, "it will be just one more killing."

At the same time, many religious leaders support McVeigh's execution. Today, we have a special report on the capital punishment debate among people of faith. Our correspondent Tim O'Brien talked with two ministers in the same denomination, the First Christian Church [Disciples of Christ].

TIM O'BRIEN: Although it has now been more than five years since Timothy McVeigh blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City, the demands that he pay for the crime with his life have not subsided -- including from the clergy.

REV. DON ALEXANDER (Senior Minister, First Christian Church [Disciples of Christ]): I personally support capital punishment because I believe that in our society, it really is the only way to undergird a system of moral accountability.

Reverend Don Alexander is the senior minister at the First Christian Church [Disciples of Christ] in Oklahoma City. On the day of the blast, his church was the disaster relief center for the families of the victims.

O'BRIEN: "Actions have consequences" reminds Alexander, and Timothy McVeigh must now compensate society for his horrendous crime.

(to Rev. Alexander): Why wouldn't life in prison with no possibility of parole be sufficient compensation to make him recognize the wrongfulness of his conduct and live with it for a ripe old age, rotting in jail?

REV. ALEXANDER: The life or lives that have been taken with premeditation cannot be replaced; by the same token, we as a society cannot honor those lives, cannot reverence them, simply by putting a person away for the rest of their natural life.

O'BRIEN: Why not?

REV. ALEXANDER: Because it's not compensational.

O'BRIEN: It's not enough?

REV. ALEXANDER: It's not enough.

O'BRIEN: But the nation's churches, much like the rest of us, do not speak with one voice on capital punishment.

The Catholics say the circumstances that might justify the death penalty are "practically non-existent." Southern Baptists insist capital punishment is not only allowed, but "divinely prescribed." The United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ disagree with the Southern Baptists. Reform and Conservative Judaism have long condemned capital punishment, yet Orthodox Jews insist that God commands execution for certain crimes. And Islam, the fastest growing major religion in the U.S., points to the Koran and Islamic tradition as evidence that Allah sanctions the death penalty.

Verity Jones is a senior minister of the same denomination as Donald Alexander -- only her ministry is in Terre Haute, Indiana, just down the highway from the penitentiary where McVeigh is set to be executed. And her views on capital punishment are light years away from those of her counterpart in Oklahoma City.

REV. VERITY JONES (Senior Minister, Central Christian Church [Disciples of Christ]): The problem with capital punishment is what it says about us. I do believe that Timothy McVeigh needs to be punished. He needs to be held accountable. As a society, we do need to judge him. As Christians, we judge him. And yet, I don't think taking his life is the way to do that. Life in prison is a pretty awful punishment. We have taken his life there.

O'BRIEN: For years, the debate over capital punishment has focused on whether the death penalty deters others from taking human life. Many criminologists and sociologists say the evidence is inconclusive.

The McVeigh case, however, may have less to do with deterrence than with retribution and it raises a stark question: Whether retribution alone -- revenge -- is sufficient justification for the death penalty.

REV. JONES: As a nation, as a society, I believe that it demeans us. It puts us in a place of perpetuating a cycle of violence. Closure will never be found if vengeance and revenge continues to be the motivation.

O'BRIEN: The debate within the church mirrors the debate within society.