Pope Leo XIV just called the death penalty "inadmissible". Then the internet found the Vatican's red-cloaked executioner

"Inadmissible."

That one word, from Pope Leo XIV, set off a fight that now reaches back more than 200 years.

On 10 October 2026, the Pope's account on X posted a line about the death penalty. It called capital punishment "an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." It said justice can be done without it, because "effective systems of detention have been developed."

Then the replies came in. They were full of Bible verses, a Protestant pastor, and a man in a red cloak from Rome's past.

Why did the Pope post about the death penalty now?

The Pope did not say. But the timing was hard to miss.

Two days earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter would be public. We covered the full Hegseth announcement here.

The Pope's wording is not new. It is the Catholic Church's own teaching, and he used the same phrase in April, when the Trump administration talked about bringing back the firing squad. This time, people simply read it next to the Hegseth news. Our earlier story on the Pope's views on technology and beauty shows how often his words end up in a bigger fight.

What did people say back to the Pope?

The loudest reply came from Josh Howerton, a pastor. His post passed 182,000 views.

"The Pope disagrees with the clear teaching of the Bible (and other Popes throughout history)," he wrote. "This is why we had a Protestant Reformation :)"

Another user, Mark Taylor, went further. "We've reached the stage of Catholicism," he wrote, "where the Pope has accused God of being a sinner."

Many replies pointed to two Bible verses. Genesis 9:6 says whoever sheds human blood will have their own blood shed by people. Romans 13:4 says the ruler "does not bear the sword in vain."

Others pointed to the story of the woman caught in adultery, where Jesus stops a crowd from stoning her. Same book, they said, but a different message.

Who stood up for the Pope?

Brady Penfield's post drew 431,000 views. His message was short: "If you are a Catholic you need to submit to Rome. It's non-negotiable."

Other Catholics were less sure. Some quoted a 2004 note from Joseph Ratzinger, before he became Pope Benedict XVI. In it, he is said to have written that Catholics may differ from the Pope on war and the death penalty, but not on abortion.

So the argument had two layers. Is the Pope right? And is a Catholic even allowed to say he is wrong?

Who was the Vatican's executioner?

This is the part that made the post go wide.

An account called @C_3C_3 (86,000 views) wrote that the Vatican was against America executing a terrorist, then posted a photo of what it called the Vatican's executioner robes. Jack Posobiec asked the AI chatbot Grok whether the Church ever supported public executions.

Grok named Giovanni Battista Bugatti. It said he carried out "over 500 public executions" between 1796 and 1865 at Rome's Piazza del Popolo and Ponte Sant'Angelo.

The core of that holds up. Bugatti was the official executioner of the Papal States, the lands in Italy once ruled by the Pope. Romans called him Mastro Titta, a short form of the Roman phrase for "master of justice."

Most sources give his total as 516 executions. Some say 514. His first recorded one was on 22 March 1796 in Foligno, when he was about 17.

Photo: Krzysztof Golik / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Is his red cloak really in a museum?

Reportedly, yes. One account says the red cloak he wore on the job is on show at the Criminology Museum in Rome. Another says his handwritten ledger of every job is kept in Rome's historical archive.

We found both claims in only one source, so check before you plan a visit.

Bugatti worked until 1864. He is said to have carried out his last execution on 17 August 1864. The last executions in Rome were done by his apprentice in 1868. Two years later, the Papal States were gone.

Photo: Krzysztof Golik / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

When did the Church actually change its mind?

Slowly, and not that long ago. Here is the timeline people kept asking for.

The 2018 change is the one at the centre of the fight. The older Catechism of 1992 did not rule out the death penalty when it was the only way to protect lives. Pope Francis approved the new text in May 2018 and the Vatican announced it in August.

Critics like Howerton say that makes the new teaching a break with the past. Defenders say it is the Church learning, as it has on other moral questions.

Neither side has moved an inch.

Why does a 160-year-old executioner matter today?

Because it hands both camps something to hold.

Critics say the Church once did exactly what it now condemns, so who is it to lecture anyone? Supporters say that is the point. The Church kept an executioner for centuries, and now it says that was wrong.

Photo: Diliff / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

For the pastors, this is the Reformation all over again. For the Pope's readers, it is a plain question about what mercy means. Brady Penfield's camp and Josh Howerton's camp are both quoting the same book.

Nobody has to settle it today. A viral post only needs two sides who both feel certain.

What do we know about the man himself?

Not much, and that is what makes it eerie.

Bugatti began at about 17 and worked for roughly 68 years. He is said to have written every job down in a ledger. Every name he ever executed is, reportedly, still on paper in Rome.

And his red cloak is said to still hang in a museum, there for anyone who wants to see it.