Vatican / New York - As the frequency of mass shootings in the United States increases, Pope Francis and the country's Catholic Bishops called for better gun-safety measures with a gun bill being considered in Congress.

Pope Francis condemned the mass shootings and the indiscriminate trafficking of arms, after the Texas elementary school shooting, saying he was praying for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families.

"It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms. Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again.”

The Pope also sent a telegram to Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, reassuring those affected of his spiritual closeness.

“With firm faith in the Risen Christ, through whom every evil will be overcome by good (cf. Rom 12:21),” the Pope also prayed “that those tempted to violence will choose instead the path of fraternal solidarity and love.”

Archbishop García-Siller condemned the tragedy in his archdiocese, saying, "When will these insane acts of violence end?"

"It is too great a burden to bear,” the San Antonio Archbishop stressed.

“The word tragedy doesn't begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be considered 'the new normal.'"

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, also decried that American massacre, saying: "The right to bear arms will never be more important than human life. Our children have rights too. And our elected officials have a moral duty to protect them.”

He highlighted a 2021 Northwestern Medicine study that found that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban prevented 10 mass shootings during the 10 years it was in effect to show that gun-safety measures are necessary and have an impact.

"Researchers," the Cardinal of Chicago illustrated, "also determined that if the ban had remained in place in the years since it was allowed to expire, it could have prevented another 30 public mass shootings that killed 339 people and injured 1139 more."

Following the Texas school shooting, the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, entrusted those killed to Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking that she “take the victims of this violence in her tender arms, and bring comfort to those who mourn, and healing those who are hurt.”

The Archbishop also asked that “God grant peace to every heart that is troubled tonight. We ask this in Jesus’ name.”

In the wake of other mass shootings plaguing the country, Archbishop Gomez prayed: “We ask that God grant wisdom and prudence to law enforcement and public officials working to make sense of the violence and keep our communities safe.”
-VM