US Catholic bishops said on Tuesday the country faces an “epidemic of evil and violence” after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school.
In a statement released on May 24, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged citizens to “ask our elected officials to help us take action.”
The USCCB released the statement after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, southwest Texas, killing 21 people.
Click here to read the full statement
Reacting to the May 24 shooting, Archbishop of San Antonio Gustavo Garcia-Siller tweeted, “God have mercy on our children, their families, their communities. The darkness is dense with one more shooting in our country.
The US bishops lamented the mass shootings in New York state and California earlier this month.
In a May 16 statement, the USSCB said it continues to “advocate for an end to violence,” citing the Church‘s consistent calls for “rational yet effective forms of regulation of dangerous weapons.”
Pope Francis said Wednesday that his heart was broken by the shooting in Texas.
Speaking at the end of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 25, he said: “My heart is broken for the elementary school massacre in Texas. I pray for the children and adults killed and their families. »
“It is time to say enough about indiscriminate arms trafficking. Let’s all work hard so that such tragedies never happen again.
The USCCB spoke out after a gunman killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and a gunman killed one person and injured five others on May 15 at a church in Laguna Woods, California.
Click here to read the full statement
