Vatican City, May 27 (RHC)-- Pope Francis says his “heart is broken” after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, calling on the U.S. to act to prevent the spread of guns.
Vatican City, May 27 (RHC)-- Pope Francis says his “heart is broken” after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, calling on the U.S. to act to prevent the spread of guns.
The shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday left 19 students and two adults dead. The gunman, identified by law enforcement as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was also killed.
Speaking during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Pope Francis called for an end to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms. "I am 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," he said. “Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again,” he added.
The gunman wielded an AR-15-style rifle in the shooting, with officials saying he legally purchased two such weapons days before the massacre. The incident came just 10 days after a mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., which left 10 people dead and had already led many to push for action on gun safety.
Other Catholic leaders also spoke out against gun violence following the Texas shooting. Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, said on Twitter Tuesday that the United States was “awash in guns” and that “mass shootings have become a daily reality.”
