Catholic, evangelical leaders condemn public execution plans as promoting ‘a culture of death’

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(RNS) — Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is joining evangelical faith leaders and others in condemning plans by the Pentagon to livestream the execution of the man who shot and killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, with the Catholic prelate calling the military’s proposal a “barbaric promotion of a culture of death.”

The outcry Friday (Oct. 9) follows the announcement that the Pentagon will livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army officer who also wounded 32 people during the 2009 shooting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously stated that the execution, which will be conducted by a firing squad, will be “public.”

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Hegseth said Thursday.

Coakley railed against the news in a statement Friday morning.

“Our God is the God of life,” Coakley’s statement read. “In no way can Hasan’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…