BREAKING U.S. Bishops' President Archbishop Coakley Condemns Plans for Livestream of Fort Hood Shooter's Execution as ‘a Barbaric Promotion of a Culture of Death’ - USCCB
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USCCB President Condemns Plans for Livestream of Fort Hood Shooter's Execution as ‘a Barbaric Promotion of a Culture of Death’
“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.”
October 9, 2026
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of War announced that the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the man convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 at Fort Hood, Texas in 2009, would be publicly livestreamed. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following statement sharply condemning the decision of the U.S. government:
“It is with shock and great sorrow that I have learned of the Department of War’s decision to publicly livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan. Our God is the God of life. In no way can Hassan’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 public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.
“I pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel that we as a nation may always choose life even in the most trying times and circumstances.”
###USCCB Release
Comments
Immediately afterward, Romans 13:1–4 addresses the civil authority:
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities… For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad… He is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”
The “sword” is a well-recognized symbol of lethal force, including capital punishment. Paul places the state’s use of the sword under God’s delegation of wrath, precisely so that individuals do not take it into their own hands. The statement’s use of Romans 12:17 therefore misapplies a personal ethic to the institution God has authorized to execute justice. The two chapters form a coherent whole: individuals renounce personal revenge; the state, as God’s servant, administers public justice.