Prince of Peace Parish

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 25, 2022 / 02:45 am (CNA).

The U.S. Catholic bishops said on Tuesday that the country was facing an “epidemic of evil and violence” after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Texas.

In a statement issued on May 24, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged citizens to “implore our elected officials to help us take action.”

The USCCB issued the statement after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, southwest Texas, killing 21 people.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that officers were believed to have killed the shooter, a local 18-year-old identified as Salvador Ramos.

The statement from the USCCB’s public affairs director Chieko Noguchi said: “There have been too many school shootings, too much killing of the innocent. Our Catholic faith calls us to pray for those who have died and to bind the wounds of others, and we join our prayers along with the community in Uvalde and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller.”

“As we do so, each of us also needs to search our souls for ways that we can do more to understand this epidemic of evil and violence and implore our elected officials to help us take action.”

Responding to the shooting on May 24, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller tweeted: “God have mercy on our children, their families, their communities. Darkness is dense with one more shooting in our country.”

“Let us help one another to spark light and warmth. May we keep each other in company. Prayers are needed.”

The U.S. bishops deplored mass shootings in New York State and California earlier this month.

In a May 16 statement, the USSCB said that it continued to “advocate for an end to violence,” citing the Church’s consistent appeals for “rational yet effective forms of regulation of dangerous weapons.”

The USCCB spoke out after a gunman killed 10 people and injured three others on May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and a shooter killed one person and wounded five others on May 15 at a church in Laguna Woods, California.

In a telegram sent to the Archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, Pope Francis offers his prayers and spiritual closeness to all those affected by the tragic shooting attack at the Uvalde elementary school.

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In a message to participants at the 102nd Katholikentag (Catholic Days) event in Stuttgart, Germany, Pope Francis warmly greets them and calls on them to pray for peace and know that "only together do we move forward" so that everyone's life will become richer and more beautiful.

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The African continent commemorates Africa Day on 25 May under the shadow of soaring food prices due to Covid-19, climatic disorders, and the conflict in Ukraine. The AU Chairperson says it is a challenge the country will confront as it did Covid-19.

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In a video message to the General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Seán O'Malley stresses the importance of working to provide spaces for abused people to be heard and protected: "You have a unique opportunity to develop an honest and non-defensive dialogue with all those involved."

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World Communications Day to be observed on Sunday focuses on the theme of listening and emphasises the urgency of putting the person at the centre of information. As Pope Francis emphasised, there is "no good journalism without the ability to listen'." This is all the more evident during the pandemic and now as the tragic war wages on in Ukraine.

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The 102nd edition of Catholic Days (Katholikentag) opens Wednesday in the German city of Stuttgart, kicking off a five-day celebration marking a unique tradition in Germany and beyond, and offering a positive cultural and ecclesial impact on society.

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Before the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis meets 20 members of the Global Solidarity Fund (GSF) and encourages them to continue their commitment for a more inclusive economy in line with the Catholic Social teaching and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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Fr. Leonir Chiarello, the Superior General of the Scalabrinian Missionaries, tells Vatican News in Davos the Church has already been at the forefront of many WEF Forum agenda items at a global and local level, and shares success stories.

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After the pandemic and as war is waged in Ukraine, the world economy is faced with unprecedented crises previously unimaginable. The Pope's words, 'The economy kills' characterized many of the debates at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In the debates at the 'Goal 17' Forum in Davos, in which the Catholic Church also participated, speakers warned that nations are increasingly looking to their own interests.

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