Pope Leo XIV Condemns Death Penalty as Inadmissible Ahead of Pentagon Livestream Execution Pope Leo XIV called the death penalty inadmissible as the Pentagon plans to livestream the Dec. 3 firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Trump has not decided on the livestream, while Vance and bishops expressed skepticism. Pope Leo XIV condemned the death penalty as inadmissible as the Pentagon faces criticism over plans to livestream an execution later this year. The first American pope shared his opposition to capital punishment Saturday in a social media post marking World Day Against the Death Penalty. The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, Leo wrote on X. The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment, he added. Effective systems of detention protect citizens without completely depriving the guilty of the possibility of redemption.Pentagon Plans Military Firing Squad ExecutionThe statement came after the Pentagon announced Thursday it had scheduled a firing squad execution for a man convicted of a mass shooting at a military base. Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood. He is set to be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3.The execution would make Hasan the first person to be executed by firing squad by the U.S. military since 1945. President Donald Trump said Saturday he had not yet decided whether to allow the livestream plan, pushed by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, to move forward. Vice President JD Vance, who is a Catholic, expressed skepticism about whether the Pentagon would proceed with a public execution and said he would not watch the livestream.Public executions are what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. , said Thursday. It should not be happening in America.Vatican Secretary Criticizes Livestream PlanCardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, criticized the proposed broadcast as truly incomprehensible and warned it was unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. The Church's position is one of total opposition to the death penalty; it is incompatible with human dignity and serves as no deterrent, Parolin told reporters Friday. It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this system today, he said.It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle; even if the person is guilty, there are other methods. Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the U.S. bishops conference, expressed shock and great sorrow about the public execution plan and urged the U.S. to reconsider. In no way can Hasan's actions be condoned, but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered, he said Friday.The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation. In 2018, Pope Francis revised the Catholic Church's official position on capital punishment, declaring it inadmissible in all circumstances.Church Teaching Against Death Penalty RevisedConsequently the church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, the revised Catechism states. Before the change, Catholic teaching permitted the death penalty when deemed the only effective means of protecting human life from a dangerous offender. Earlier popes maintained that exception, though Pope John Paul II increasingly advocated ending capital punishment.He stressed that those convicted of crimes retain their human dignity. Leo's statement did not mention the botched lethal injection of Christa Gail Pike in Tennessee. Pike survived the attempted execution despite two doses of pentobarbital being administered late last month. Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin examined the history and use of firing squads in the United States.She discussed the debate over plans to livestream Hasan's execution and looked at Vice President JD Vance's concerns about live-streaming it on Special Report.