US EditionPope Leo condemns capital punishment amid US execution push
The pope renewed his call to abolish executions as the Justice Department said it would add firing squads, electrocution and gas asphyxiation.
- On Friday, the U.S. Justice Department announced plans to expand federal execution methods, including firing squads, under President Donald Trump. The directive rescinds the Biden-era moratorium, aiming to "strengthen the federal death penalty."
- Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche authorized seeking death sentences against 44 defendants, with nine already approved. The administration plans to readopt lethal injection protocols using pentobarbital, which officials described as "more humane" than other modes.
- Simultaneously, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church's opposition to capital punishment, labeling it "inadmissible" during an address at DePaul University in Chicago. The pontiff marked the 15th anniversary of Illinois abolishing the death penalty.
- This clash highlights the ongoing public feud between the administration and the pontiff, who has regularly rebuked the president over migrant policies and the war on Iran. Trump has previously called Leo "terrible," escalating tensions.
- While the administration pushes to resume executions, the Death Penalty Information Center reports that public support for capital punishment has fallen significantly over the past three decades. Campaigners warn the system risks irreversible miscarriages of justice.
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Pope Leo reiterates opposition to death penalty on same day U.S. approves firing squads
Pope Leo reiterated the Catholic Church's teaching that the death penalty is "inadmissible," in a video message released hours after the Justice Department said it would allow firing squads for federal executions.
Pope condemns death penalty as Trump admin pushes for firing squads
Pope Leo XIV condemned capital punishment in a video to DePaul University in Illinois on Friday to mark the 15th anniversary of the state’s abolition of the death penalty. The US-born pontiff’s message comes amid the Trump administration’s push to broaden methods of execution for federal inmates to include firing squads, among others.
Pope Leo condemns capital punishment amid US execution push
Pope Leo condemned capital punishment for a second day running on Friday, calling for its abolition in the United States just as President Donald Trump's administration moved to broaden methods of execution for federal inmates.
In a speech for a U.S. university, Leo XIV called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty - it is inadmissible according to the teaching of the Church. Shortly before, the U.S. government had announced that it would extend the death penalty.
Pope Leo XIV expresses himself on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in the U.S. state of Illinois. Even after committing the most serious crimes, the "inviolability and dignity of a person" is not lost, he says.
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