His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., STD
Bishop Emeritus
Diocese of Belleville
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 18, 2026, 9:00 AM Mass
Saint Luke Parish
“Render, therefore, unto Ceasar the things are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s (The Horror of a Proposed Public Execution)”
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, called Russian President, Vladimir Putin from his apartment in Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday, just four days after Tuesday’s surgery to remove an adenocarcinoma non-small cell cancerous nodule from his right lung. He asked for a cease fire in the Russian occupied city, Oleshky in Ukraine to allow food, medical supplies, and safe evacuations of more than 2,000 starving civilians trapped there by a blockade. He did this even though the Vice President of the United States, a convert to Catholicism, has said the Bishop of Rome should stick to religion and stay out of politics.
However, in the gospels, Jesus of Nazareth often comments on the relationship between the Kingdom of Heaven and the political question swirling around Him. This morning, in Matthew 22:15-21, the Pharisees and the Herodians try to trap Jesus by asking Him a loaded political question. He answers them with one sentence. “Render, therefore, unto Ceasar the things are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.”
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This past week the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, of which I am a member, following the example of Jesus and the Roman Pontiff, felt compelled to condemn as barbaric the Secretary of Defense’s announcement, approved by the President, that the government would livestream for all Americans to see, the execution, by firing squad, of U.S. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. He is the Army psychiatrist convicted of mass murder on Nov. 5, 2009 at the Fort Hood, Texas military base, which left 13 people dead and 32 others injured. Witnesses say Mr. Hasan, an al-Qaeda sympathizer, screamed in Arabic, “Allahu Akbar” (“God is the greatest”) immediately before he began firing. The execution is scheduled for December 3rd, during the first week of Advent, the memorial of St. Francis Xavier.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, the President of our Episcopal Conference, greeted this announcement “with shock and great sorrow” saying “In no way can Mr. Hasan’s actions be condoned but this decision (to livestream the execution) is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered. The public execution even of one who has done grave harm will only further undermine the moral fabric of our nation and be a blight on the conscience of its people.” The Secretary of Defense strongly supported the public execution of Mr. Hasan saying, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it. People need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things.”
Members of Congress from both parties, military and religious leaders, wounded soldiers who survived the shooting, and ordinary citizens vocally deplored the plan to livestream the killing of Mr. Hasan. Dozens of admirals and generals wrote an open letter declaring, “Livestreaming this execution turns what should be the solemn and grave punishment of a member of our society for committing the most serious crimes into a carnival for the enjoyment of voyeurs and spectators.”
The outpouring of moral outrage over the intended livestream may have swayed the president. On Thursday, noting that “many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch (Mr. Hasan) die”, the President canceled the Pentagon’s planned livestream of the execution. Only immediate families of Mr. Hasan’s victims will be able to watch it.
Most Americans are relieved by this decision. But we must wonder how this could have been considered in a civilized society by politicians who regularly speak of their Christian faith.
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Today’s gospel narrative focuses on an encounter between Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Herodians who question Jesus about paying taxes to emperor Tiberius Caesar.
This confrontation takes place just three days before Jesus is crucified. They wanted to force Jesus to say He was either a rebel against the Roman empire or a blasphemer against His Jewish faith. Slyly, they lay their trap. “Teacher, is it lawful to pay the census taxes to the emperor or not?” Knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus asks, “Why are you putting me to the test?” Looking at the Imperial tribute Denarius, the “census” tax that Jewish people were required to pay to support the Roman occupation of Israel with its blasphemous image of the ‘divine’ Caesar, Jesus knows, if He says Jews must pay the tax, He would anger the Jewish crowd who hated their Roman persecutors. But if He said no, He could be arrested for treason against the so-called ‘divine’ emperor. He carefully avoids their “either/or” riddle and speaks of ‘both/and’ saying, “Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's” without saying whether they should or should not pay the “census” tax!
Jesus is reminding us that the image of the emperor inscribed on the coin is falsely claiming him to be ‘divine’. But we know from the Genesis’ creation story that all human beings are truly inscribed with the divine image (imago dei) as spiritual beings. We are called to see this divine image in every person, even those convicted of heinous crimes. He is telling us the civil authority of the government is real, but it is limited by divine authority. Just as Ceasar was not ‘divine,’ our United States government is not ‘divine’. Those who understand they are made in God’s image know from their consciences that they must always obey a higher moral law that surpasses government laws. Obviously Christians sometimes experience a conflict between government policies and the dictates of an informed moral conscience.
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In 2018, Pope Francis added these words to The Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that ‘the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,’ and (the Church) works with determination for the world wide abolition of the death penalty.”
My fellow Bishops and I are well aware that many American Catholics disagree with the Church’s call for an end to the death penalty, especially when faced with a horrendous case like Maj. Hasan. We understand that the human spirit can be overtaken by a desire not only for punishment but also for revenge. But “rendering unto Caesar” cannot be a defense for a grotesque display of hatred by the government with public executions.
The hanging of Roscoe “Red” Jackson in Galena, Missouri on May 21, 1937 was the last public execution in the United States. This controversial high profile public spectacle, which recalled the once widespread practice of “lynching” People of Color, led states to ban the practice once and for all!
Were you shocked and outraged when public execution was suddenly restored nearly 100 years later? Was this just another new story that didn’t phase you? Were you in favor of it? Did you not know about it at all?
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
The proposed macabre spectacle treating another person’s death as something to watch, or even to celebrate would have been useful propaganda for autocratic governments that regularly stage public executions. It could have been circulated on social media and traumatize young people. It clearly would not have honored the unique human beings who were slain: nor would it have brought healing and comfort to their grieving family members.
Surely the teaching of Jesus in this morning’s gospel calls Catholics to be grateful for the decision to cancel livestreaming a firing squad execution. Catholics should be proud that the voice of the Catholic Church played a significant role in the President’s decision to cancel the public viewing of the execution.
As you are nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, one who was Himself publicly executed under the authority of the so-called ‘divine’ emperor, pray about the complex, challenging issues our nation is currently facing. In the midst of this whirlwind, prayerfully reflect on the cutting edge meaning of Our Lord’s words to each of us, “Render, therefore, unto Ceasar the things are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.”
Praised be Jesus Christ! Both now and forever. AMEN!