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4h ago

Pope Leo Denounces Death Penalty as DOJ Moves to Allow Firing Squads

The timing highlighted a sharp split between the Vatican’s defense of human dignity versus a White House push to speed federal executions.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard the papal flight from Malabo to Rome, on April 23, 2026, at the end of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa.
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Overview

  • Pope Leo, in a video to DePaul University on Friday, backed abolishing capital punishment as the Justice Department moved to permit firing squads and revive pentobarbital.
  • He said a person’s dignity endures even after grave crimes and reiterated Church teaching that the death penalty is inadmissible.
  • The Justice Department said it would restore single‑drug lethal injections with pentobarbital and streamline internal steps to speed capital cases.
  • News outlets framed the same‑day actions as deepening a public rift between the pope and President Trump that has grown during disputes over Iran and other policies.
  • The pope’s message marked 15 years since Illinois ended executions in 2011, building on Gov. George Ryan’s 2000 moratorium and signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn.