Pope Leo XIV called for the “pandemic of arms, large and small” to end during a weekly public prayer with crowds in St Peter’s Square on Sunday that also addressed the plague of mass shootings in the US.
The first US pope in history, a native of Chicago, spoke in English as he prayed for the victims of last week’s shooting during a Catholic school mass in Minnesota which saw two children killed and others seriously injured.
“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school mass in the American state of Minnesota,” he 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.”
Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the shooting on Wednesday at the Annunciation Catholic school church in Minneapolis and 18 people were injured. The shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained glass windows before he died by suicide.
The shooting has reignited debate over guns in the US after the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, called for solutions on gun control rather than the “thoughts and prayers” statements often made by Republicans. The US has experienced, by far, a higher proportion of mass gun shootings than other countries around the world.
The pope had initially refrained from political commentary in response to the shooting, offering condolences by telegram, stating he was saddened by the “terrible tragedy”.
“While commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones. At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School Community, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude and consolation in the Lord Jesus,” the telegram stated.
He began his appeal on Sunday by calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, calling on both sides to make a “serious commitment to dialogue”.
“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,” Leo said. “The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must rise.”
Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had long decried the weapons industry calling gun manufacturers “merchants of death” and asked during his speech to US Congress in 2015 why weapons were sold purely to kill.
“Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood,” Francis said during his speech. “In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
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