Pope Leo and the Trump Administration Clash Over Iran War and Capital Punishment

On April 24, Pope Leo XIV condemned the United States’ war in Iran and the federal government’s plan to broaden execution methods, while the Trump administration announced firing-squad executions and defended the war as authorized. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the Pope’s remarks, and President Donald Trump called the pontiff “terrible for foreign policy.”

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The United States began air strikes against Iran in early April, citing self-defense against imminent threats and the need to curb Iran’s nuclear program and proxy networks. Catholic just-war doctrine requires legitimate authority, just cause, right intent, proportionality, last resort, and reasonable chance of success. The Justice Department released a report expanding execution protocols to include firing squads, electrocution, gas asphyxiation, and pentobarbital lethal injection, reversing a Biden-era moratorium.

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Pope Leo XIV (Pontiff), President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Justice Department, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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The Vatican video reiterated that the death penalty is “inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” Justice Department called the execution methods “lawful” and “necessary” to address shortages. Hegseth told reporters the military “knows what its mission is” and “has every authority necessary under the Constitution.” Trump posted that the Pope is “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” U.S. bishops said the Iran war “does not meet the just-war threshold.”

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Archbishop Broglio and Vatican Secretary of State argued the conflict lacks right intent, fails the last-resort test, and harms civilians. Just-war scholars noted the absence of a clear proportional benefit and questioned the preventive-war rationale. Catholic advocacy groups cited the Pope’s call to abolish capital punishment as a moral counterpoint to the administration’s policy shift.

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Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011; its 15th anniversary was marked on April 24. The Biden administration commuted 37 federal death-row sentences, leaving three inmates under Trump. Thirteen were executed under the prior administration using pentobarbital. Justice Department’s new protocol adds firing squads, electrocution, and gas as execution methods.

White House to bring back firing squads as Pope Leo XIV calls for U.S. death penalty to be abolished

Sources differ on whether the war meets the just-war criteria; the administration cites self-defense, while Pentagon briefers told Congress the Iranian threat was not imminent. No clarification has been offered on the war’s ultimate objectives.

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• “The right to life is the very foundation of every other human right,” — Pope Leo, Pontiff

Reuters

• “I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people's lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people — from conception to natural death — their lives should be respected and protected,” — Pope Leo, Pontiff

National Catholic Reporter

• “The pope’s gonna do his thing, that’s fine,” — Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense

The Hill

• “We know what our mission is. We know what authority we have. We're very clear about that,” — Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense

Forbes