Persecution · October 12, 2026
Also published in Português (Brasil)
US Bishops Shocked by Announcement of Live Execution
The Islamic attacker Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people in the USA in 2009, is expected to be executed on December 3, and the public is expected to watch. The Catholic Church of the country wants to prevent this.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have reacted with dismay to the announcement of a live televised execution by the US military. Regarding the scheduled shooting of an Islamic attacker on December 3, the chairman of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Paul Coakley, stated, "I have learned of the decision of the Department of Defense to publicly broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan with shock and great sadness."
While Hasan's actions can in no way be condoned, Coakley said, "This decision is the barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered." Ultimately, God has taught humanity: "Do not repay anyone evil for evil." Such a public execution would "further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and ruin the conscience of its people," the archbishop warned.
Nidal Hasan, a former member of the US military, had shot 13 people at a base in Texas in 2009, injuring dozens more. The act, regarded as a terrorist attack, occurred just weeks before a planned deployment to Afghanistan. Hasan, who identified himself as a jihadist fighter, was sentenced to death in 2013. The execution of the 56-year-old would be the first by the US military since 1961.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest faith community in the USA, as Protestants are divided into various denominations. Nearly a quarter of Americans are Catholic, with most Catholics living in the Northeast and Southwest. Accurate figures are difficult to ascertain because changing denominations is quite common in the USA.
Pope Leo XIV calls for the global abolition of the death penalty, stating that it violates human dignity. The occasion for his video message: the death penalty has been abolished in his home state of Illinois for 15 years.