Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio comforts people in Uvalde, Texas, outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center May 24. (CNS photo/Marco Bello, Reuters)
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“My heart is broken over the massacre at the primary school in Texas. I pray for the children and adults killed, and for their families. It is time to say ‘no more’ to the indiscriminate trafficking of weapons. Let us all strive to ensure that such tragedies can never happen again.” (Pope Francis, May 25, general audience)
On the day after the devastating elementary school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, Pope Francis offered up special prayers for the families affected in the tragedy, while calling for an end to gun violence. His remarks came quickly after an urgent message from Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, Texas, pleading for the Holy Father to bless the souls of the innocent: “Uvalde is in mourning. The families are having a very dark time. Your prayer will do good to them. Gracias por ayudarnos. Queremos ser como Jesús. Cuente con nuestra oración.” Thank you for helping us. We want to be like Jesus. Count on our prayers.”
Archbishop Gustavo was in the middle of a conference with 150 priests in San Antonio when the massacre took place. Upon hearing the news that a teenager had killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers with an AR-15-style gun, he immediately suspended the meeting and travelled 85 miles to the small Latino community to offer his solace and prayers in person.
His first stop was to Uvalde Memorial Hospital, where many of the shooting victims were being treated. Later, he visited the town’s civic center to pray with families awaiting news of their loved ones, then celebrated a community Mass at Sacred Heart Parish church in Uvalde that night.
He later spoke publicly through the press and social media asking for additional prayers: “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.”
Within hours, the Vatican sent Archbishop Gustavo a message saying the pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the tragic shooting” and assured survivors of his “spiritual closeness” through fervent prayers for “the divine gifts of healing and consolation.”
A U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spokesperson also expressed condolences while calling for action to prevent such slaughter: “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.”
Just a week prior to the Uvalde massacre, 10 Black Americans were murdered in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. In the wake of these tragedies, U.S. Catholic leaders, such as Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, have called for more effective gun regulation. “As I reflect on this latest American massacre, I keep returning to the questions: Who are we as a nation if we do not act to protect our children? What do we love more: our instruments of death or our future? The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai. 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.”
Archbishop Gustavo has expressed similar strong sentiments. In his official statement, the Archbishop of San Antonio said “There are no words to adequately convey the deep sadness and sorrow and overwhelming shock at the incomprehensible loss of life of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Tuesday afternoon at the hands of a young gunman. When will these insane acts of violence end; it is too great a burden to bear. The word tragedy doesn’t begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be considered ‘the new normal.’
“The Catholic Church consistently calls for the protection of all life; and these mass shootings are a most pressing life issue on which all in society must act — elected leaders and citizens alike. We pray that God comfort and offer compassion to the families of these little ones whose pain is unbearable. They must know that we are with them and for them. May the Lord have mercy on us all. From the Book of Wisdom, ‘The souls of the just are in the hands of God. … They are in peace.’”
For more on the Archdiocese of San Antonio and how they are appealing for all to respond, please visit their website at www.archsa.org.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
