Archbishop serving US military urges Catholics be excused from proposed firing squad execution

By Christopher Lamb, Jedd Rosche, CNN

(CNN) — The archbishop assigned to serve Catholics in the US military strongly condemned the Pentagon’s plan to livestream a firing squad execution and said Monday that Catholic personnel should not participate.

“As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio wrote in a statement, marking the latest dispute between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church.

His comments came after he met with Pope Leo on Monday. The pontiff himself strongly condemned the death penalty over the weekend, consistent with the church’s opposition to capital punishment but also coming after the relatively new pope has already clashed with US President Donald Trump over issues of war, immigration and press freedom.

Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in a podcast interview that the execution of the convicted Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Hasan would be shown in public. A Pentagon official later said the execution “will be livestreamed.”

The decision to livestream a public firing squad execution was swiftly met with bipartisan concern and opposition — including from Republican members of Congress — as well as widespread condemnation from world leaders.

He also made clear he felt for the loved ones of those impacted by Hasan’s 2009 mass shooting that killed 13 people, adding that he presided at the funeral for one of the victims of the attack.

“I renew my expression of heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in the attack at Fort Hood,” Broglio wrote. “It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person.”

Broglio questioned the purpose of making such an event public, calling on “all men and women of good will” to “do what is possible to keep the exposure to the live-streaming of the proposed execution from the vision of the young and impressionable.”

“Will the exposure of a live-stream to the young and impressionable during the 250th anniversary year of our independence be able to be repaired?” Broglio asked in his statement. “The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world. Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheel chair to the whole world?”

The-CNN-Wire
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