Pope Leo has once again risked the ire of Donald Trump by condemning the death penalty, just as the former president's administration moved to expand execution methods for federal inmates. In a message to DePaul University in Chicago marking the 15th anniversary of Illinois abolishing capital punishment, the pontiff emphasized the Catholic Church's teaching that every human life is sacred from conception.
'The right to life is the very foundation of every other human right,' Pope Leo stated. 'Only when a society safeguards the sanctity of human life will it flourish and prosper.'
The pope's remarks came on the same day the US Justice Department released a report recommending that federal execution protocols be modified to include methods such as firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation, alongside lethal injection. The department cited difficulties in obtaining drugs for lethal injections as a reason for the change. This follows Trump's pledge to resume capital punishment, after his predecessor Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates, leaving only three facing execution.
Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the United States, has frequently criticized the Trump administration over the past year, including its crackdown on migrants and the US-Israeli war on Iran. Trump has responded by calling Leo 'terrible'.
The pope argued that existing punishments can protect citizens while preserving the possibility of redemption for serious offenders. His comments came a day after he was questioned about waves of executions in Iran, to which he replied: 'I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment.' He reiterated that the Church teaches 'the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.'
