U.S. Military Archbishop Broglio: Catholic Soldiers Assigned to Firing Squad Must Request to Be Excused
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 — Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services and oversees pastoral care for Catholics in the U.S. armed forces, said in a statement on Monday, October 12, that any Catholic service member assigned to a firing squad should request to be excused from the duty, which he described as contrary to the teaching of the Church, according to Reuters, the Associated Press and CNN. It is the most direct intervention yet by the U.S. Church in the dispute over the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter.
Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others. He was sentenced to death by a military court in 2013. Hasan, now 56, uses a wheelchair. The Army has scheduled his execution by firing squad for December 3 at Fort Hood. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced last week that the execution would be livestreamed, arguing that a public execution would serve as a deterrent. According to Reuters, President Donald Trump has approved the firing-squad method but has said he will make the final decision on whether the livestream goes ahead. If carried out as planned, it would be the first U.S. military execution by firing squad since 1945 and the first military execution of any kind since 1961; according to death-penalty experts, a U.S. government execution has never been broadcast or livestreamed.
In his statement, Broglio first expressed sympathy to the victims' families; he had presided at the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in the attack. He questioned the purpose of turning the execution into a public spectacle and raised concerns including the effect of a broadcast on young viewers. According to USA Today, Broglio met Pope Leo XIV in Rome on October 12 shortly before the statement was released; the pope had publicly restated the Church's opposition to the death penalty over the weekend. The Pentagon declined to comment on Broglio's statement on October 13.
On next steps, Reuters noted that Army regulations allow soldiers to request religious exemptions or accommodations, and that the Army has not yet said how members of the firing squad will be selected. Broglio has served as Archbishop for the Military Services since 2007 and is a former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. As GSM previously reported, the conference's current president, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, condemned the livestream decision in a statement on October 9; Broglio's move goes a step further, directing the request for excusal to the Catholic personnel within his own pastoral charge.
Source: Reuters (October 12); Associated Press, CNN and USA Today (October 13).
Source: 路透社、美联社
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 布罗利奥总主教2015年在韩国乌山空军基地教堂接受采访，美国空军照片（Senior Airman Kristin High 摄），公共领域（Wikimedia Commons）
