Pope Leo XIV has again criticised Donald Trump by condemning the death penalty just hours after the president reintroduced execution by firing squad. The pontiff declared capital punishment an attack on human dignity on Friday, shortly after the Justice Department announced it would allow firing squads as a method of execution.
Pope Affirms Right to Life
'The right to life is the very foundation of every other human right,' Pope Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. 'In this regard, we affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed.'
The Holy Father has publicly condemned capital punishment for two consecutive days as the Trump administration moves to ramp up and expedite death penalty cases. Trump and Pope Leo have been feuding for several weeks, with the American pontiff also criticising the president's approach to the Iran conflict.
Earlier Tensions Ease
Last week, Pope Leo appeared to ease tensions with the White House by clarifying that he opposed war in general, not only the conflict in Iran, and that his comments about a 'handful of tyrants' spending billions on war were not directed at Trump. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, thanked the pontiff for his remarks and said the Trump administration would work to apply the moral principles of the Gospel in this 'messy world.'
Church Teaching on Capital Punishment
On Friday, the Pope reminded the American people that the Catholic Church teaches capital punishment is 'inadmissible' because it is an 'attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.' 'The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves to be protected,' he said. 'Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.'
The pontiff reiterated that Pope Francis and his other recent predecessors 'insisted that the common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment.'
Continued Feud
Trump's feud with the pontiff began on April 7 when Pope Leo condemned his warning that 'a whole civilization will die tonight' if Iran failed to meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pope Leo also said attacks on civilian infrastructure 'are against international law.' Trump had previously threatened to destroy bridges and power plants in Iran.
On April 12, Trump posted a lengthy statement to Truth Social accusing Pope Leo of being 'WEAK on crime' and 'terrible for Foreign Policy.' 'I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,' Trump wrote, adding, 'And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.'
The next day, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself in red-and-white robes, appearing to heal the sick, which he quickly deleted after backlash from Catholics. When asked about it, Trump said he thought the image 'was me as a doctor.'
Justice Department Expansion
The feud may reignite after the Justice Department announced Friday it is seeking to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add firing squad, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution. The Biden administration had removed the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital from the federal protocol over concerns about unnecessary pain and suffering.
The moves are part of a broader push to step up federal executions after a moratorium under the Biden administration. Only three defendants remain on federal death row after President Joe Biden commuted 37 sentences to life in prison, though the Trump administration has authorised seeking death sentences against 44 defendants. It is also reauthorising the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital, used to carry out 13 executions during the first Trump administration.
Trump, on his first day in office for his second term, called for an expansion of the death penalty 'for the vilest crimes.' The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others have moratoriums in place.
