Pope Condemns Death Penalty as US Plans Livestreamed Execution

Pope Leo XIV declared capital punishment "inadmissible" on Saturday, coinciding with the World Day Against the Death Penalty and the U.S. Defense Department's announcement that the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed. The pontiff, posting on X under his official handle @Pontifex, echoed the Catholic Church's revised teaching, stating that the death penalty attacks human dignity and that justice can be served without resorting to executions.

"The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment," the post read, adding that "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 message concluded with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty.

Nidal Malik Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood on December 3, following his conviction for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 shooting spree at the military base. The decision to livestream the execution has drawn strong criticism from Vatican officials and U.S. bishops.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin described the planned livestream as "truly incomprehensible" and "unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle." He reiterated the Church's firm opposition to the death penalty, asserting it is incompatible with human dignity and ineffective as a deterrent.

Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. Bishops Conference, expressed "shock and great sorrow," calling the Pentagon's decision a "barbaric promotion of a culture of death" that undermines the nation's moral fabric. He urged reconsideration of the plan.

President Donald Trump has stated he will make the final decision on whether the execution will be livestreamed. The controversy unfolds amidst renewed debate over capital punishment in the United States, partly fueled by a recent botched lethal injection execution in Tennessee.

Pope Francis officially amended Catholic teaching in 2018 to declare capital punishment inadmissible under all circumstances. This marked a shift from previous church doctrine, which had allowed for capital punishment if it was the only means to protect society. While earlier popes had maintained this position, Pope St. John Paul II had begun advocating for an end to the practice, emphasizing the dignity of all individuals, regardless of their actions.

Pope Leo XIV has continued this emphasis on human dignity and redemption during papal visits, including to prisons. He is scheduled to visit a prison in Buenos Aires during an upcoming tour of Latin America. His predecessor, Pope Francis, also incorporated prison visits into his travels, aiming to convey a message of hope and the possibility of redemption to inmates.