While the Vatican secretary of state and the leader of the US bishops have already spoken out against plans for a live-streamed execution in the United States, now the military archbishop of the nation has taken a further step, saying that as the bishop who oversees the military, and thus those who will participate in the firing squad, he obliges Catholics to request to be excused. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., issued his statement October 12, on the proposal to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad. The execution is planned to take place on the Texas military base where the crime occurred. Hasan was a major in the military and a psychiatrist, and he went on a shooting spree at the military base, killing 13 people and injuring 32 others, on November 5, 2009. Archbishop Broglio referred to Hasan as a “terrorist” and recalled that he himself presided at the funeral of the only civilian who died Read More…

Catholics can’t participate in execution, says military archbishop