Pope Leo rejects death penalty as US plans livestreamed execution

Pope Leo XIV on October 10, 2026, the World Day Against the Death Penalty, posted on X that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. He said the common good and justice can be met without capital punishment through detention systems that protect citizens while leaving the guilty a possibility of redemption, and used the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty. In 2018 Pope Francis amended the Catechism to declare the death penalty inadmissible in all circumstances, changing earlier teaching that allowed it only if it was the sole way to defend lives against an unjust aggressor. The U.S. Defense Department announced on October 8, 2026, that it would livestream Nidal Hasan's firing-squad execution, scheduled for December 3, 2026 at Fort Hood. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 and wounding 32 in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and sentenced to death by military court in 2013. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said people would be able to watch and that it would be public. Cardinal Pietro Parolin called livestreaming unacceptable and said death should not be turned into a spectacle. Archbishop Paul Coakley expressed shock and great sorrow, saying the decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered. Leo did not specifically name the Hasan case. Some coverage also noted Christa Pike surviving two lethal injections on September 30, 2026. The UN and Democratic and Republican party representatives have reacted against the livestream plan.