Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees Catholic pastoral services for U.S. military personnel, called on Catholic service members to seek exemption from the scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted of carrying out the 2009 Fort Hood massacre.

The statement, issued Monday, came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon planned to livestream Hasan’s execution on December 3. The proposal has drawn criticism from Catholic leaders, who argue that capital punishment and the public broadcasting of an execution raise serious moral concerns.

Hasan was sentenced to death for the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 12 U.S. Army soldiers, one civilian and an unborn child. Another 33 people were wounded in the attack, one of the deadliest shootings ever to occur on a U.S. military installation.

Broglio opened his statement by expressing sympathy for the victims’ families and friends, recalling that he presided over the funeral of Michael Grant Cahill, the only civilian killed in the attack.

He then reiterated the Catholic Church’s opposition to the death penalty, pointing to the Catechism and the teachings of former Pope Francis. The Church’s position holds that capital punishment is inadmissible, a teaching Pope Francis reinforced during his pontificate. Pope Leo XIV has also affirmed the Church’s teaching on the issue.

Broglio said the proposed livestream raised additional concerns about the dignity of the human person and the potential for what he described as “moral injury.” He urged officials to reconsider the broadcast and take steps to prevent young and impressionable viewers from being exposed to it.

Most pointedly, the archbishop called on Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from the duty.

“As I would in the case of a procured abortion, I oblige any Catholics assigned to the firing squad to request to be excused from this action contrary to the teaching of the Church,” Broglio said.

The archbishop’s intervention followed a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which warned that livestreaming Hasan’s execution would “undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.”

The controversy places the Pentagon’s proposed broadcast at odds with prominent Catholic leaders’ objections to capital punishment and the public display of an execution. Hasan’s execution remains scheduled for December 3, according to the announcement described in the reports.