Cardinal Parolin on US public execution: Death must not be turned into a spectacle

Vatican News

“It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this method in this day and age. I do not know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle. However guilty the person may be, there are other ways.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, made that comment on the Pentagon’s decision to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hassan, the former Army major convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood massacre.

Read also 09/10/2026 US Archbishop Coakley: Livestreaming execution promotes a ‘culture of death’ Archbishop Paul Coakley, President of the US Bishops’ Conference, expresses shock over the planned livestreamed execution of Nidal Hassan, warning that a public execution would ... Death penalty is incompatible with human dignity

“The Church’s position is one of total opposition to the death penalty. It is incompatible with human dignity and does not serve as a deterrent,” the Cardinal reiterated.

He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an event in Rome dedicated to John Henry Newman on Friday evening.

He recalled that the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, had already spoken on the issue and said that “there will be a statement from the Holy See” on the matter.

Nobel Peace Prize

Reporters also asked the Cardinal about the Nobel Peace Prize awarded on Friday to 85-year-old South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a judge of the International Criminal Court and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.

Cardinal Parolin said that when people “stand up for human rights,” it is “a positive thing.”