Pope Leo XIV rejects the death penalty as an attack on the dignity of the human person
Pope Leo
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV published on his official account
In an article published on Saturday, on the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the Pope stressed that justice can be defended and that the common good of humanity can be safeguarded without resorting to capital punishment.
He said criminals can be detained effectively to protect citizens, while allowing perpetrators the opportunity to be redeemed.
“The death penalty is inadmissible because it violates the inviolability and dignity of the person. The common good can be safeguarded and the demands of justice can be satisfied without recourse to capital punishment: effective detention systems have been developed which protect citizens without completely depriving the guilty of the possibility of redemption. #No death penalty,” wrote Pope Leo.
Message from Pope Leo on X
The pope’s post comes a day after Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the president of the American Bishops’ Conference made statements against the planned public execution of Nidal Hassan.
Mr. Hassan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at Fort Hood in November 2009. A military court sentenced him to death in 2013.
On Thursday, the Pentagon announced his execution by firing squad scheduled for December 3, 2026, although new legal proceedings could delay it.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Cardinal Parolin said plans for a live execution were unacceptable.
“It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this method in this day and age,” he said. “I don’t know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to make a spectacle of death. However sinful it may be, there are other ways.”
He reaffirmed that the death penalty “is incompatible with human dignity and has no deterrent effect.”
Earlier Friday, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed “shock and great sadness” and called for a review.
“Hassan’s actions cannot be tolerated in any way, but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered,” he told Vatican News.
He warned that a public execution would damage the moral fabric of the nation and prayed that Americans would always choose life.
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