A Pentagon decision to livestream a military execution has sparked strong objections from Catholic leaders. On Oct. 9, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged officials to reconsider plans to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan, convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood shooting in Texas.
VATICAN WARNS AGAINST MAKING DEATH A SPECTACLE
According to the USCCB, The Archbishop expressed shock and sorrow over the announcement, describing the proposed broadcast as a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” While making clear that Hasan’s crimes could not be condoned, he cautioned that turning the punishment into a public spectacle would undermine the nation’s moral fabric. Invoking Romans 12:17, he recalled Scripture’s call not to repay evil with evil, seeking the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
Meanwhile, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin joined the opposition to the proposal. Speaking to journalists in Rome on Oct. 9, he rejected turning capital punishment into a spectacle. According to Vatican News, Parolin reaffirmed the Church’s opposition to the death penalty, stressing that it violates human dignity and does not deter crime. He also indicated that the Holy See would issue a statement.
The execution is scheduled for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, after President Donald Trump authorised it following a recommendation from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The former Army psychiatrist killed 13 people and wounded 32 others on Nov. 5, 2009, before receiving a death sentence in 2013.
If carried out, it would mark the first execution by the U.S. military since 1961 and its first use of a firing squad since 1945. The United Nations human rights office also raised objections, maintaining that livestreaming the punishment would effectively constitute a public execution and violate the absolute prohibition against torture.
Leave a Reply