The Vatican’s newly elected leader spoke out against capital punishment in a video statement released just hours after federal officials announced expanded execution methods for death row inmates.
Pope Leo XIV reinforced the Catholic Church’s position that capital punishment is “inadmissible,” delivering the message on the same day the Justice Department revealed it would permit the use of firing squads in federal executions.
The timing of the Pope’s statement created a stark contrast between the Vatican’s moral stance and the federal government’s decision to broaden execution protocols. The pontiff’s remarks emphasized the Church’s longstanding opposition to state-sanctioned killings.
This marks one of Pope Leo XIV’s first major public statements since taking the papal office, addressing what remains a contentious issue in American criminal justice policy.
