Pope Leo XIV has renewed his condemnation of capital punishment as the United States considers broadcasting an execution by firing squad.

In a message marking World Day Against the Death Penalty on Saturday, October 10, the first American pope said justice and public safety could be upheld without executions. He did not directly mention the Pentagon’s livestream proposal.

“The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,” he said.

The Pentagon proposal concerns former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. His execution is scheduled for December 3.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has championed the broadcast, but the plan has drawn opposition from lawmakers, religious leaders and international organisations.

Reuters reported that President Donald Trump had not yet decided whether to allow it.

The controversy also comes amid renewed scrutiny of execution methods in the United States, following a botched lethal injection of a woman in Tennessee last week.

Observed annually on October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty campaigns for the abolition of capital punishment. The 2026–2027 theme, “Stories for Life,” focuses on the people affected by death sentences and the personal experiences often overlooked in debates about punishment.

The campaign highlights the impact on people facing execution, their relatives, victims’ families and those working within justice and prison systems, placing the human consequences of capital punishment at the centre of the discussion.

Pope Leo XIV