The archbishop for the U.S. military says Catholic soldiers should not participate in the firing squad execution of the former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio offered his sympathy in a statement this week to the families and friends of those who died in the Fort Hood mass shooting but said the Catholic Church opposes capital punishment.
“The dignity of the human person is again at stake,” he said. “As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teachings of the Church.”
People were interested in these podcasts
Nidal Hasan is set to be executed at Fort Hood on Dec. 3. He would be the first person executed by a military firing squad since Army private Eddie Slovik in 1945 for desertion during World War II.
Archbishop Broglio also denounced the planned livestream of Hasan’s execution. He said making a “public spectacle” of it would be an imitation of the tactics used by terrorists.
“The crime commited by Nidal Malik Hasan was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose? Has the potential moral injury, which the memebers of the firing squad might experience, been considered?” the archbishop said.
“The U.S. military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world. Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheelchair to the whole world?” he said.
Archbishop Broglio presided over the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in the November 2009 attack.
Hasan was shot by law enforcement officers responding to the jihadi-inspired attack. The gunfire caused spinal injuries that left Hasan paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair.
President Trump has not formally approved livestreaming Hasan’s execution. Vice President J.D. Vance, who is Catholic, said he would not watch the livestream.
“I call upon all men and women of good will to ask that this decision be reconsidered and, at the very least, do what is possible to keep the exposure to the live-streaming of the proposed execution from the vision of the young and impressionable,” Archbishop Broglio said.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.