At the end of the May 25 general audience, Pope Francis shared a word about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“My heart is broken by the massacre,” the Holy Father said. “I pray for the children and adults killed, and their families.”
The Pope added: “It is time to say ‘no more’ to the indiscriminate trafficking of guns. Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again.”
Most pressing life issue
Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio presided at a Mass on Tuesday evening at Sacred Heart church in Uvalde, with Father Matthew De León from Sabinal and Father Jaime Paniagua of Del Río concelebrating the liturgy. The archbishop will again preside at a liturgy at Sacred Heart on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
The archbishop released this statement:
There are no words to adequately convey the deep sadness and sorrow and overwhelming shock at the incomprehensible loss of life of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde this afternoon at the hands of a young gunman. When will these insane acts of violence end; it is too great a burden to bear. The word tragedy doesn’t begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be considered “the new normal.”
The Catholic Church consistently calls for the protection of all life; and these mass shootings are a most pressing life issue on which all in society must act — elected leaders and citizens alike. We pray that God comfort and offer compassion to the families of these little ones whose pain is unbearable. They must know that we are with them and for them. May the Lord have mercy on us all. From the Book of Wisdom, “The souls of the just are in the hands of God. … They are in peace.”
And today we celebrate...