{"id":10335,"date":"2026-10-14T03:42:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T03:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=10335"},"modified":"2026-10-14T16:11:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T16:11:41","slug":"come-one-come-all-public-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/come-one-come-all-public-execution\/","title":{"rendered":"Come One, Come All! Public Execution!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Trial<\/a>
Spectators and vendors at John Pegsworth’s execution. (1837) Detail of a trial broadside.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was nothing in my Google news feed Tuesday about the scheduled execution by firing squad of a mass murderer, or plans to livestream the event. Nothing that I’ve seen, at any rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vatican News, on the other hand, posted this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“US Archbishop ‘obliges’ Catholics to request to be excused from firing squad<\/a>”
Christopher Wells, Vatican News (October 13, 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Archbishop for the Military Services USA, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, has issued a statement<\/a> obliging ‘any Catholics assigned to the firing squad’ for the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan ‘to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mr. Hasan was condemned to death by a military court for the premeditated murder of 13 people and the attempted premeditated murder of 32 more in a mass shooting at Fort Hood in the US state of Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Earlier this month, President Donald Trump approved his execution by firing squad. Subsequently, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the execution would be livestreamed….”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As I was dotting my dotting i’s and crossing my t’s \u2014 odd use of apostrophes, but that’s how the Cambridge Dictionary<\/a> spells it \u2014 I learned that the execution is currently scheduled for December 3 of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“…On October 5, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense, via Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, issued a statement saying that Hegseth had recommended, and President Trump approved, execution by U.S. Army firing squad. On October 6, the acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle decided that Hasan’s execution by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood, Texas, on December 3, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT. On October 8, Hegseth stated that Hasan’s execution will be a public execution, and the Pentagon stated that it will be livestreamed. If carried out, it will be the first public execution in the United States in 90 years. According to ABC News, army planners were unaware of the decision to conduct the execution by firing squad and to broadcast it prior to public reporting….”
(Nidal Hasan<\/a>, Wikipedia (October 13, 2026))<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Where I got ‘October 13’ as the execution date, I don’t know. I hadn’t been taking notes as I glanced over recent articles and op-eds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, I could praise or denounce someone, exhibit shock and horror or virtuous triumph, or pick some other perch from my culture’s political and ideological pigeonholes. But I won’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I’ll sketch out how I see the planned event: as someone who is a Catholic, and takes what I believe seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Human Life Matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Claes<\/a>
Legal in 1606, after England’s Gunpowder Treason Plot: public executions by vivisection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First of all, murder, deliberately killing an innocent person, is a bad idea and we shouldn’t do it. That’s because human life is sacred. It’s a gift from God. That’s every<\/strong> human life, each<\/strong><\/strong> human life, all<\/strong> human lives. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2258-2317)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s where I could try appealing to a formerly-influential American set, presenting myself as a dedicated defender of America’s noble traditions. Including the death penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or I could align myself with the folks who have enjoyed influence and authority more recently, by saying that the death penalty is wrong. And, since the Catholic Church says capital punishment is wrong, that it’s run by hypocrites. Actually, the hypocrite claim \u2014 and worse \u2014 was part of the ‘good old days’ of my youth, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Valuing Life, Living in an Imperfect World<\/h4>\n\n\n
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\"Navy<\/a>
New York City’s Word Trade Center after the 9\/11 attack. (September 14, 2001)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We’re told that human life is sacred, so shouldn’t we be full-bore pacifists?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe, if we lived in an ideal world where nobody felt like ganging up on their neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that, putting it mildly, is not the world we live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Thomas Aquinas discussed what we call legitimate defense at great length:<\/p>\n\n\n\n