Catholic church leaders have condemned plans for the public execution of a former army major in the United States.
Nidal Malik Hasan shot dead 13 people and injured 32 others at the Fort Hood military base in Texas in 2009.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the execution will be live-streamed and carried out by soldiers at the same place and around the same time of day as the attack he carried out.
President Trump told reporters the 56-year-old “deserves” to die by firing squad, but the decision to live-stream the execution has been described by the President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death”.
In a statement, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley said: “It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan. Our God is the God of life. In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered. The word of God exhorts us: ‘do not repay anyone evil for evil' (Romans 12:17). The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.
“I pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel that we as a nation may always choose life even in the most trying times and circumstances.”
The Catholic Church officially opposes the death penalty and the decision has been condemned by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. He described it as “truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this method in this day and age. I do not know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. However guilty the person may be, there are other ways”.
The United Nations says the decision to hold a public execution could violate "prohibitions against torture" and has described the plans as “abhorrent”.
The US Vice President JD Vance, who is a Catholic, said he wouldn't be watching, "if it is ultimately live-streamed".