US ARCHBISHOP TELLS CATHOLIC SOLDIERS TO AVOID FIRING SQUAD DUTY

Archbishop Timothy Broglio has called on Catholics serving in the US armed forces not to take part in a planned firing squad execution, saying doing so would breach the teachings of the Catholic Church. In a statement issued on Monday, Broglio said he obliges any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from the task. The execution concerns Nidal Hasan, a former US Army major convicted of killing 13 people in a shooting attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. Defence secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the execution would be livestreamed on 3 December, describing the move as a form of deterrence. Hegseth told the media outlet Real America's Voice that the public nature of the execution was intended to show that there are "serious consequences" for such acts.

Broglio questioned in his statement whether the United States wanted to "imitate the terrorists of this world" by making what he called a public spectacle of killing an adversary. Hasan, now 56, was shot by police during the 2009 attack and is reported to be wheelchair-bound as a result. Cardinal Blase J Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, also criticised the plan in a social media post on Monday, questioning what example it would set for children and stating that "capital punishment is unacceptable in any case." Pope Leo has separately described the death penalty as "inadmissible," according to earlier reporting.

The plan has drawn criticism from lawmakers and rights groups, who have warned that broadcasting the execution could be used as propaganda by groups hostile to the United States. Critics have also raised concern that livestreaming Hasan's death could turn him into a symbolic figure for such groups. No further details on the department's response to the archbishops' objections have been reported. The execution remains scheduled for 3 December, according to Hegseth's announcement.