U.S. Bishops’ President Condemns Hegseth’s Plan to Livestream an Execution

Archbishop Paul Coakley called the Pentagon’s firing-squad livestream “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” His rebuke lands as Pope Leo XIV presses his home country to end the death penalty.

Pope Leo XIV greets Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the Vatican. On Oct. 9, 2026, Coakley condemned the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan as “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death.” (Vatican Media)

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