Pope Leo says death penalty ‘inadmissible’ as U.S. plans to livestream Fort Hood execution

The Story

Pope Leo XIV said capital punishment is “inadmissible” as he marked World Day Against the Death Penalty, hours after Vatican officials criticized the United States’ plan for a public livestreamed execution.

In a post on X, the American pope quoted revised Catholic teaching on capital punishment, saying it “attacks the inherent dignity of a human being.” The post, under his official handle, @Pontifex, said: “The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment.” It added 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,” ending with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, had earlier called the planned U.S. public execution “unacceptable,” saying it was “truly incomprehensible” to “turn death into a spectacle.” Parolin’s comments were carried by Vatican News and said the Church’s position is “one of total opposition to the death penalty,” adding that it is “incompatible with human dignity” and serves “as no deterrent.”

The U.S. Defense Department announced Thursday that Nidal Malik Hasan’s execution by firing squad would be livestreamed. Hasan is scheduled to be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, after being convicted for the 2009 shooting at the military base that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.

Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. bishops conference, said he was “shocked” and expressed “great sorrow” in response to the Pentagon’s plan. In a statement Friday, he said the decision was “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered,” adding that public execution—even of someone who committed grave harm—would “undermine the moral fabric of our nation” and be “a blight on the conscience of its people.”

Pope Francis, whom Leo followed in revising official Catholic teaching, declared in 2018 that the death penalty is “inadmissible” in all circumstances. The Vatican said Leo’s recent remarks did not refer directly to the planned livestreamed execution, nor to an earlier case involving a botched lethal injection in Tennessee that has reignited debate in the U.S.