Pope Leo XIV declared capital punishment "inadmissible" on Saturday, marking the World Day Against the Death Penalty with a forceful condemnation of state executions. The statement from the American pontiff came days after the U.S. Defense Department announced plans to livestream a firing squad execution, an unprecedented step in American capital punishment.
In a post on X, Pope Leo quoted revised Catholic teaching on capital punishment, stating that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." The message emphasized that society need not resort to execution to maintain order or satisfy justice. "The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment," the pope wrote. "Effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption."
The pope published his statement across nine X accounts in Spanish, English, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, and Latin, concluding each with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty.
On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the military would livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted in a 2009 shooting at Fort Hood that killed 14 people. Hasan is scheduled to be executed at Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. If carried out, the livestream would represent the first public broadcast of an American execution in the nation's history.
Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, did not directly reference the Pentagon's announcement in his statement. However, the timing underscored a stark contrast between the pontiff's moral authority and his native country's approach to capital punishment. The pope's position reflects Catholic Church teaching introduced by his predecessor, Pope Francis, that capital punishment violates fundamental human rights and denies the condemned any genuine opportunity for reform or redemption.
The World Day Against the Death Penalty, observed annually on October 10, provided the occasion for the pope's statement, which aligned with international opposition to capital punishment.