US Archbishop Opposes Firing Squad Execution, Urges Catholics Not to Take Part

Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the United States has spoken out against plans for a public firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major who carried out the 2009 Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that killed 13 people. In a statement issued Monday, he said the move violates Catholic Church teaching.

Broglio asked any Catholic believers assigned to the firing squad to seek exemption from participation, and questioned whether the United States wants to "imitate the terrorists of the world and turn the brutal killing of opponents into a public spectacle."

The plan to livestream the execution, scheduled for December 3, was announced last week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who argued it would serve as a deterrent. Hegseth told the right-wing outlet Real America's Voice that the public needs to understand the serious consequences of such acts.

However, the proposal has drawn opposition from lawmakers, human rights organizations, and critics, who warn that broadcasting a killing publicly is not only immoral but could be exploited as anti-American propaganda.

Hasan, now 56, was shot by police during the 2009 attack and uses a wheelchair. Critics worry that livestreaming his death could turn him into a symbol for armed groups hostile to the United States.

On the same day, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, also condemned the plan on social media, questioning the example it might set for children. He said: "The death penalty is unacceptable in any case. Broadcasting a firing squad's taking of a life is nothing less than spectacle-driven barbarism. Do we really want our children, who will certainly be watching, to witness state-sponsored killing as a form of pornography?"

Hegseth said he wants the execution to take place at the same time and location as the 2009 shooting, and described using service members to carry out the death penalty. Of the firing squad, he said: "We haven't done that since World War II. I kind of like the spirit we had in World War II, which was winning."

The most recent firing squad execution in the US military was that of Eddie Slovik, convicted of desertion in 1945. He was the only American soldier executed for leaving his post.

In his Monday statement, Broglio also questioned why service members would be put on television to carry out Hasan's death sentence, suggesting it could harm the military's reputation abroad. He wrote: "The US military generally has a good reputation around the world. Is it really worth putting them in the same boat as terrorists by broadcasting images of the execution of a man in a wheelchair to the entire world?"

Without specifically referring to Hasan's case, Pope Leo also issued a statement Saturday condemning the death penalty. He said: "The death penalty is unacceptable because it violates the inviolability and dignity of the human person. The common good can be protected and the demands of justice can be met without resorting to the death penalty: effective detention systems have been developed to protect citizens while not completely depriving offenders of the opportunity for redemption."

President Donald Trump, who oversaw an unprecedented rise in federal executions during his first term, has approved Hasan's execution. However, on Saturday he said he had not decided whether to proceed with a livestream. He told reporters: "There are two schools of thought: not to show it, and to show it. Because, you know, by showing it, maybe others won't do what he did. I'll make a decision."

Since the start of his second term, Trump has pushed for greater use of the federal death penalty. In April, he also approved additional methods of execution, including the firing squad. Trump has previously mentioned the death penalty as a punishment for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to insurrection, a term he has used to accuse his political opponents.