The Pentagon plans to execute Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3 and livestream it. Days later, Pope Leo XIV called the death penalty "inadmissible." Fr. Gerald Murray joins Joe on the question Catholics are arguing about: can a faithful Catholic still support capital punishment?

On November 5, 2009, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas. Among the dead was Pvt. Francheska Velez, three months pregnant; her unborn child was never counted in the charges. Convicted by court-martial in 2013 and sentenced to death, Hasan is now set to face an Army firing squad, the military's first firing-squad execution since World War II. Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch. President Trump says the final call on the livestream is his.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin called the plan "truly incomprehensible." Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services told Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused. At The Catholic Thing, Brad Miner argues the sentence is just but the broadcast is not.

Fr. Murray, canon lawyer and columnist at The Catholic Thing, takes up what Scripture and two thousand years of Church teaching say about the state's power of the sword, what changed in the Catechism in 2018, and whether an execution should ever be a public spectacle.

SCRIPTURE (Douay-Rheims):

• Genesis 9:6 — "Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to the image of God."
• Romans 13:4 — "For he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is God's minister: an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil."
• Ezekiel 33:11 — "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live."

FURTHER READING:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2265–2267 (no. 2267 revised 2 August 2018)
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter to the Bishops on the new revision of no. 2267 (2 August 2018)
• Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 56 (25 March 1995)
• Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent), Part III, the Fifth Commandment

IN THE NEWS:

• The Catholic Thing — Brad Miner, "How to Kill the Terrorist" https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2026/10/14/how-to-kill-the-terrorist/
• NPR — Pentagon to livestream firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter
  https://www.npr.org/2026/10/09/nx-s1-5996529/firing-squad-livestream-execution-fort-hood-shooter
• AP — Pope Leo declares death penalty inadmissible as his native US plans to livestream execution
  https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2026/10/10/pope-leo-declares-death-penalty-inadmissible-as-his-native-us-plans-to-livestream-execution

FR. GERALD MURRAY:

• The Catholic Thing: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/

If this helped you think it through, send it to a Catholic friend who's arguing about it at the dinner table.

#NidalHasan #DeathPenalty #FrGeraldMurray #FortHood #PopeLeoXIV #CatholicNews #ACatholicTake #Catholic

LINKS:
Watch live weekdays 4pm ET - https://joemcclane.com/watch
He Is Coming (novel) - https://joemcclane.com/he-is-coming
Catholic by Design - https://joemcclane.com/books
Speaking - https://joemcclane.com/speaking
Pilgrimage - https://joemcclane.com/pilgrimage
Support the work - https://joemcclane.com/support
ACT Insiders email list - https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/gE04UwE/acatholictake
A Catholic Take on The Station of the Cross - https://thestationofthecross.com/act/
X - https://x.com/JoeDMcClane
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ACatholicTake
Catholic Match: https://www.catholicmatch.com/