Pope Leo XIV Calls Death Penalty 'Inadmissible' While US Plans Live Execution Broadcast

Pope Leo XIV stated that the death penalty is 'inadmissible' during the World Day Against the Death Penalty, emphasizing that it violates human dignity and that effective detention systems can ensure justice without capital punishment. He opposes the Pentagon's plan to broadcast live the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. The Vatican and American bishops criticized the live broadcast, calling it a promotion of the culture of death, with the US bishops' president condemning it as harmful to national morality.