US bishops call for responsible gun laws after series of mass
shootings
 |
| A memorial near the site of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas (AFP) |
The Catholic Bishops of the United States renew calls for
responsible gun laws and more resources to address the root causes of violence,
after a series of mass shootings that left 29 people dead in just a few hours.
By Vatican News
“Something remains fundamentally evil in our society when
locations where people congregate to engage in the everyday activities of life
can, without warning, become scenes of violence and contempt for human life.”
US bishops expressed that conviction this weekend in a statement that
followed a mass shooting in the US state of Texas on Saturday and shortly
before another in Ohio.
Gun violence
In Texas, a gunman opened fire with a rifle on shoppers in
an El Paso mall, killing 20 people and injuring over two dozen others.
Investigators are treating the shooting as a case of
domestic terrorism and as a hate crime.
The gunman, who surrendered to police, had posted a
manifesto online calling his act of violence “a response to the Hispanic
invasion of Texas”.
Just 13 hours later, in Dayton, Ohio, another man killed 9
people and wounded 27 others with an assault-style rifle.
Police shot and killed the shooter within 1 minute.
Terrible truth
In a
separate statement released after the Ohio shooting, Cardinal Daniel
DiNardo and Bishop Frank Dewane say the pair of mass shootings reveal “a
terrible truth”.
“We can never again believe that mass shootings are an
isolated exception,” the two Catholic bishops note. “They are an epidemic
against life that we must, in justice, face.”
Expressing their condolences to the victims’ families, the
US bishops urge preventative action in the form of “prayer and sacrifice for
healing”, as well as a renewed push for changes to gun laws.
Address root causes
“We encourage Catholics to pray and raise their voices for
needed changes to our national policy and national culture,” they write.
The USCCB “has long advocated for responsible gun laws and
increased resources for addressing the root causes of violence.”
“Things must change,” say US bishops.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét