The Catholic archbishop for the U.S. military has condemned the execution of the former Army major who killed 13 in a 2009 attack at Fort Hood, and the proposal to livestream the firing squad to the public.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio said in a statement released Oct. 12 that Catholic military members assigned to the firing squad should ask to be "excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church."
Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, is set to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood in Texas. There, on Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire on fellow service members. He was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 31 others.
Hasan's execution will be the first military execution and first use of a firing squad
in the United States in decades. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said last week it would also be livestreamed – a first in U.S. history. The announcement drew backlash across the political spectrum. Trump later said he would make the final decision on whether it will be livestreamed.
"(D)o we really want to imitate the terrorists of this world and make a public spectacle of barbarically killing our adversaries?" Broglio said in the statement. "The crime committed by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?"
The Pentagon declined to comment on Broglio's statement on Oct. 13.
Broglio, who was named archbishop of the U.S. military services in 2007 and presided over the funeral service of one of the shooting victims, said the Catholic Church is opposed to capital punishment, echoing Pope Leo XIV. Broglio and Leo met in Rome Oct. 12 shortly before the statement was released.
Leo, the first American head of the Catholic Church, said over the weekend that the death penalty was "inadmissible" and "attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." Leo didn't specifically mention Hasan, but his statement came after Hegseth's announcement of the livestream and amid ongoing outcry after the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee, who survived.
"It was an attack that disregarded the dignity of the human person," Broglio said of the 2009 shooting. In his opposition to the death penalty, Broglio added: "The dignity of the human person is again at stake."
"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? Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?" he said.
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, has said he would not watch Hasan's execution.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Military archbishop condemns plan to livestream Fort Hood shooter execution
