The U.S. military’s top Catholic archbishop has urged Catholic service members assigned to the firing squad for the execution of Nidal Hasan to request recusal, citing the Catholic Church’s opposition to the death penalty.
The archbishop, Timothy P. Broglio, also condemned plans by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to livestream the execution, scheduled for December 3, calling it a potential source of moral injury for military personnel. In a statement released Monday, Broglio argued that broadcasting the execution could undermine the military’s global reputation and equate U.S. forces with terrorists.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted in 2013 for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and injured more than 30. He is set to be executed by firing squad after the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his death sentence in 2023.
Military Response
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Broglio’s statement or the livestream plans. Hegseth announced last week that the execution would be publicly viewable, stating that “people need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of actions.”
Catholic Leadership Opposition
Broglio’s stance aligns with recent remarks from Pope Leo XIV, who declared the death penalty “inadmissible” in a social media post coinciding with the World Day Against the Death Penalty. The pope did not directly reference Hasan’s case or the 2023 botched lethal injection execution of Christa Pike.
Broglio, who presided over the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in the Fort Hood attack, questioned whether publicly broadcasting the execution serves any purpose. He stated, “Does this decision reflect the dignity of the human person?”
Background on the Execution
Hasan’s execution was originally scheduled for 2013 but faced multiple legal delays. The firing squad method was chosen after lethal injection drugs became unavailable in some states. The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since 1961, when John A. Bennett was executed by hanging for rape and attempted murder.