Archbishop tells Catholic soldiers not to take part in military execution

Key Points:

• Archbishop Timothy Broglio, overseeing Catholic military pastoral services, urged Catholic soldiers to seek exemption from participating in the planned firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, criticizing the Pentagon's proposal to livestream the event.
• Hasan, convicted of killing 13 and wounding 32 in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, is scheduled for execution by firing squad on Dec. 3, marking the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first firing squad execution since 1945.
• Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Paul Coakley and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, condemned the execution and its proposed public broadcast as morally wrong, emphasizing the Church’s opposition to the death penalty and the spectacle of public executions.
• Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s stance that the death penalty is inadmissible as it violates human dignity, advocating for justice systems that allow for redemption without capital punishment.
• The Pentagon’s plan has faced bipartisan political criticism, with President Trump undecided on the livestream, and lawmakers like Senator Thom Tillis condemning public executions as practices of oppressive regimes, not America.