Pope Leo XIV delivered an English-language plea for an end to a global "pandemic of arms," calling for a culture of fraternity and the rejection of the "logic of weapons." He publicly prayed for victims of a shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, which killed two children and injured 20 people when the shooter fired 116 rifle rounds through stained-glass windows before dying by suicide. Earlier, the pope avoided political commentary on guns and sent a telegram expressing sorrow, describing the event as a "terrible tragedy" and offering "heartfelt condolences" and spiritual closeness.
History's first U.S. pope spoke in English as he appealed for an end to the "logic of weapons" and for a culture of fraternity to prevail, 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."
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Leo had refrained from any political commentary about guns, sending a telegram of condolence that focused exclusively on the spiritual. He said he was saddened by the "terrible tragedy" and sent his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected."
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