Pope Leo makes another swipe at Trump just hours after the US president's firing squad announcement

In a video message, the pontiff declared the death sentence an attack on human dignity as the Trump administration announced it was taking steps to "strengthen" it.

Addressing an event at DePaul University marking 15 years since Illinois abolished the death penalty, he said every human life must be protected “from conception until natural death”.

He said the right to life is “the very foundation of every other human right”.

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The Pope added that even those guilty of serious crimes do not lose their dignity, and argued that modern justice systems can protect the public without resorting to executions.

It is the second day in a row that the Holy Father has publicly condemned capital punishment. The American pontiff has also been critical of the Iran war.

Last week, the Pope blasted leaders ​who spend billions on ‌wars and said the world was "being ravaged by ​a handful of ​tyrants". He later clarified this by stating that he was opposed to war in general and that his comments were not directed at Trump.

Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, responded on X, thanking the pontiff for his comments and that the Trump administration would work to apply the moral principles of the Gospel in this 'messy world.'

In the video, the Pope reiterated how the Catholic Church teaches that capital punishment is "inadmissible" because it is an "attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person".

"The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves to be protected," he added.

"Furthermore, effective systems of detention can be and have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption."

The pontiff reminded viewers that his recent predecessors believed that the "common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment".

Trump's plans include reintroducing firing squads and reinstating lethal injection protocols used during his first term. Some US states already permit this under certain circumstances.

The changes are designed to “strengthen the federal death penalty” and allow executions to resume once legal appeals have been exhausted, officials said. "Internal processes” will also be streamlined to speed up cases.

Read More: Every word Trump and Pope Leo have said to each other in feud

The Pope and Trump's feud began on April 7 when Pope Leo condemned the US President for warning that "a whole civilisation will die tonight" if Iran failed to meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

Pope Leo also said the attacks against civilian infrastructure "are against international law".

On April 12, Trump accused Pope Leo on Truth Social of being "WEAK on crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy".

"'I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,' Trump said, adding, "And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do."

The following day, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself in red-and-white robes, appearing to heal the sick with his hands, reminiscent of Jesus in the Bible.

When asked about it, Trump said he thought the image "was me as a doctor". The feud appeared to calm down after Pope Leo clarified his message, and JD Vance thanked him.

But Trump's latest move to expand the use of the death penalty in federal capital cases and add firing squad lines, electrocution and gas to lethal injection as methods of execution could reignite the feud.