Catholic military archbishop urges believers to skip planned livestreamed execution
Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, set December 3 for convicted mass murderer Nidal Hasan's execution, which is to be broadcast live.
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What happened
The archbishop responsible for Catholics in the U.S. military has asked them not to take part in a livestreamed execution planned for Dec. 3. He compared the request to the Church's position on procured abortion, saying he obliges Catholics to avoid it. The plan has also drawn public commentary, including an ethicist's debate over whether watching an execution can be ethical.
Why it matters
The request asks Catholics in the military to be excused from participating in the planned livestream. It puts the execution's broadcast at the center of a religious objection.
Timeline
- Oct 12, 9:19 PM ET: An ethicist debates whether it might be ethical to watch a mass murderer's execution.
- Oct 13, 2:49 PM ET: Readers respond to the plan to live-stream the execution, with one columnist saying they would not want to watch it.
- Oct 13, 4:51 PM ET: The archbishop responsible for Catholics in the U.S. military asks them not to participate in the livestreamed execution planned for Dec. 3.
Coverage
- Military archbishop asks that Catholics be excused from livestreamed execution (religionnews.com)
- Live-stream an execution? I wouldn’t want that — even for my daughter’s killer. (The Washington Post)
- Bearing Witness: Why It Might Be Ethical To Watch A Mass Murderer's Execution (science20.com)
- Christianity teaches us not to turn executions into entertainment (religionnews.com)
- A Public Execution Puts America in Poor Company (The Atlantic)
- Lethal injection is no kinder than a firing squad (The Washington Post)
- Fill the government with barbarians, you get barbaric government (The Washington Post)
- The Failings of Public Execution (The Atlantic)
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