Pope Leo XIV called for an end to the "pandemic of arms, large and small" and prayed publicly for victims of a school Mass shooting in Minnesota. He denounced the "logic of weapons" fueling wars and urged prayer to stop widespread armament that harms children. Two children were killed and 20 people were injured when a shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through the Church of Annunciation's stained-glass windows and later died by suicide. The attack intensified the U.S. debate over gun laws, with advocates for stricter background checks criticizing Republican reliance on "thoughts and prayers." The pope initially sent a telegram of condolence focusing on spiritual sorrow and called the event a "terrible tragedy."
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the "pandemic of arms, large and small," as he prayed publicly for the victims of a shooting during a Catholic school Mass in the United States. History's first U.S. 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. "Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota," said the Chicago-born Leo. "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 were killed Wednesday and 20 people were injured during the 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. The shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through the church's stained-glass windows, and later died by suicide. The attack once again reignited the debate over guns in America. Those who support stricter background checks on gun purchases and other laws, often Democrats, say that Republican politicians who appeal to "thoughts and prayers" after school shootings are trying to distract from their own inaction on gun restrictions.
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