Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who oversees the Catholic Church’s pastoral services to Catholics in the U.S. military, is condemning the proposed livestream of the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan.

Broglio, in a statement Monday, also stipulated that any Catholic soldier assigned to the U.S. Army firing squad should ask to be excused from that duty, which he described as contrary to the teachings of the church. He joins other Catholic leaders in speaking out against the death penalty and the livestream plans.

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood in Texas, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3.

The crime committed by Hasan “was heinous, but does exposing the public to his execution serve any purpose?” Broglio asked.

“The US military generally enjoys a good reputation in the world,” Broglio added. “Is there really a value to throwing them in the same boat with terrorists by broadcasting the image of the execution of a man in a wheelchair to the whole world?”

ITALY

Pope to hospital Tuesday for surgery

The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV will be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday ahead of surgery to remove a lung nodule, providing an unusual level of transparency about papal health under the American pope.

The surgery will require a weeklong recovery in the hospital, and the Vatican on Monday canceled all Leo’s audiences through Oct. 20.

Leo himself revealed the discovery of the nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and said he was following doctors’ advice to have it removed. The Vatican press office said Monday that no particular issue precipitated the tests, denying Italian media reports suggesting an inflammation had prompted Leo to have the checkup.

On the eve of his departure for Rome’s Gemelli hospital, it was business as usual Monday at the Vatican.

The 71-year-old Leo presided over an audience with members of a Rome-based charity, the Circolo San Pietro, and received a donation from them. He had six other private audiences, made three appointments and the Vatican released a letter he had penned to the outgoing dean of the College of Cardinals, thanking him for his service.

U.S. Southwest

Flash-flood risk follows Rachel

Forecasters issued flood watches Monday and warned more rain and isolated thunderstorms could hit the Southwest after the remnants of tropical storm Rachel caused severe flooding in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Las Vegas tied an all-time daily rainfall record for the month of October after receiving 1.08 inches of rain into Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The last time that much rain fell on the city in one October day was in 1947.

The weather service issued flood watches through Monday afternoon for a large swath of Utah, southeast Idaho, and northern and central Arizona, including the Grand Canyon.

PENNSYLVANIA

Authorities name Erie attacker

A coroner on Monday released the names of the gunman and six of the eight people he shot and killed at a home in Erie, Penn., including seven of his relatives.

The shooter in Friday’s attack was Matthew Stone Sr., 45, according to Erie County coroner Lyell Cook. Stone took his own life at the home.

According to Cook, the adult victims were Michelle Stone, 44; Angelina Stone, 24, who was due to give birth Monday; Jonathan Stone, 19; Matthew Stone, 21, and two women who lived at other addresses: Lora Roberts, 37, and Twila Tanner, 51. He said a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl also died.

At a memorial to the victims, Julius Windham said his daughter Amarianna was the toddler who was killed. The girl’s mother was Angelina Stone, who was also the mother of the boy who died, he said.

The police chief hasn’t said what the gunman’s possible motives were but suggested that his mental health could have been a factor.

— Associated Press