Shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to a an elementary school, in Minneapolis (Tim Evans)
Church in US in mourning following Minneapolis tragedy
The church in the United States expresses its grief and
condolences following Wednesday's tragedy in Minneapolis, where a young man
opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. The attack resulted in
the deaths of two children and around seventeen injured before the shooter took
his own life.
Vatican News
Messages of condolence, solidarity and prayer have poured in
to the community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States where a
young man opened fire on Wednesday during Mass before the start of classes at
Annunciation Catholic School. Two children died in the attack and seventeen
others sustained injuries, according to initial reports, while the shooter took
his own life.
Cardinal de Mendonça
offers heartfelt condolences
Upon hearing the terrible news, Cardinal José Tolentino de
Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, sent a telegram
to Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda, expressing his “heartfelt
condolences" over the deaths of the two children during the celebration of
Mass. The message assured the community of "fervent prayers for the
victims and their families" and "spiritual closeness to the entire
community affected." Cardinal de Mendonça noted how this heartbreaking
incident shows the need for Catholic education to renew its efforts in the face
of today’s challenges "in order to continue building a culture of
fraternity, founded on a peace that is both unarmed and disarming.”
Cardinal Cupich prays
for victims, urges action
In a statement issued on Wednesay 27 August, Cardinal Blase
Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, said "we join our prayers with others that
those injured in body and spirit will heal and that the murdered children will
be received into heaven, we must also cry out for action to prevent even one
more such tragedy." Noting sadly that such shootings and violence have
become commonplace, this incident "hits close to home" since it
occurred at a Catholic school and the gunman shot through the windows of a
church where the children and their teachers were at prayer to mark the start
of the school year. He writes: "If any place should have been safe, it
should have been there. If any time should have been safe, it should have been
then. Tragically, we know no place or time when Americans – even children – are
safe from the curse of gun violence."
Cardinal Cupich encouraged offering prayers for "those
who hold the power to make the safety of our people a national priority,"
and for "God to give them the courage to take the steps they know will
alleviate if not eliminate the fear parents must feel sending their children
off to school...surely they must be moved by these shootings. We pray that they
will not see them as inevitable because then we will have certainly surrendered
our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Cardinal Tobin prays
for comfort to the grieving
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, urged the
faithful to join him in prayer for all those affected by the tragic shooting at
Annunciation Catholic School, noting how "what should have been a joyful
beginning to a new academic year was instead shattered by senseless
violence." In a a message posted online, he said, "we hold close in
prayer the children, families, teachers and parish community of
Annunciation" and that "no child should ever face fear in a place of
learning and worship, and no parent should endure the loss of a child to
violence." In conclusion, we writes, "May Christ our Redeemer bring
comfort to the grieving and peace to all who mourn."
Cardinal Dolan,
solidarity with the victims
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, in a social
media post, exprssed profound sadness over the attack, writing, "once
again, we are shocked and horrified by the news of another senseless shooting,
this time all the more disturbing because it happened at a Catholic church and
school, which should always be sanctuaries of peace. We mourn the two innocent
children whose lives were cut short by this dreadful tragedy and hold in our
intentions the seventeen wounded." He added, "we join in
compassionate solidarity with the countless families of the city of
Minneapolis, Annunciation Catholic school, and beyond who have been touched by
an unthinkable grief caused by mindnumbing gun violence which has become all
too common. We pray for an end to all violence in our hearts, in our
communities, and in our world."
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