Pope Leo XVI prayed publicly on Sunday for the victims of the shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota and called for an end to the “pandemic of arms, large and small.”
The U.S.-born pope spoke in English as he denounced the attack and the “logic of weapons” fueling wars around the world, during his Sunday noon blessing from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” Leo said. “We hold in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”
Two children – 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moysk – were killed Wednesday, and 20 people were injured during a shooting attack at the Church of Annunciation in Minneapolis, as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for a Mass marking the beginning of the school year.
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The shooter, who later died by suicide, fired 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass window.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Leo had refrained from any political commentary about guns in America, sending a telegram of condolence that focused exclusively on the spiritual. He expressed sadness over the “terrible tragedy” and extended his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected.”
Leo had opened his appeal on Sunday by demanding an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and a “serious commitment to dialogue” from the warring sides.
“It’s time that those responsible renounce the logic of weapons and take the path of negotiations and peace, with the support of the international community,” he said. “The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must rise.”