Pope says death penalty "inadmissible" amid U.S. plans to livestream execution

Pope Leo XIV declared that capital punishment is "inadmissible" as the United States plans to livestream an execution by firing squad.

The American pope, in a post on X marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty, quoted the revised Catholic teaching on capital punishment ushered in by his predecessor, Pope Francis. The Catholic teaching states that capital punishment attacks the inherent dignity of a human being.

"The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment," read the post under Leo's official handle, @Pontifex. "Effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption."

The U.S. Defense Department announced Thursday that the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of a 2009 shooting at the Fort Hood military base, will be livestreamed. Hasan, scheduled to be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.

The decision to livestream the execution has drawn fierce criticism. 

Leo's post didn't refer specifically to the planned execution in the U.S. or the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee late last month which has revived debate over the death penalty in the United States. However, it is common for the pope's official social media accounts to post messages marking such commemorations like the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

However, Leo's post came just hours after his top deputy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said explicitly that the planned U.S. public execution was "unacceptable."

Speaking specifically about the United States, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the planned livestreamed execution was "truly incomprehensible" and "unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle."

"The Church's position is one of total opposition to the death penalty; it is incompatible with human dignity and serves as no deterrent… ," Parolin said in comments carried by Vatican News. "It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this system today — I don't know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle; even if the person is guilty, of course, there are other methods."

The head of the U.S. bishops conference, Archbishop Paul Coakley, expressed "shock" and "great sorrow" at the Pentagon's plans.

"In no way can Hasan's actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered," he said in a statement Friday. "The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people."

On Friday, President Trump said he approves of Hasan's execution by firing squad.

"He will be killed. He will be, through firing squad," Mr. Trump told reporters before flying to Syracuse, New York, for a political event. "I really don't care how he goes, as long as he goes. And I think the death penalty is a very worthy way of going for him."

Mr. Trump did not appear to answer when asked whether it was appropriate to livestream the event or whether he was going to watch the execution.

Vice President JD Vance, who is a Catholic convert, appeared to cast doubt on Friday about the livestream, telling reporters he wouldn't watch it and, "I don't know that that's actually going to happen."

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• Pope Leo XIV

Execution of Fort Hood gunman to be livestreamed, Pentagon says