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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial |
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ARTICLE VIEW: |
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Pope Leo calls for end to ‘pandemic of arms’ after Minneapolis |
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school shooting |
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By Christopher Lamb, CNN |
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Updated: |
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11:10 AM EDT, Sun August 31, 2025 |
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Source: CNN |
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Pope Leo XIV has pleaded for an end to the “pandemic of arms” as he |
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made his first public comments on gun control while offering prayers |
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for the victims of the at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis. |
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The first American pope made his remarks following the August 27 |
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shooting which killed two children and injured 18 others as students |
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and staff gathered for a school Mass. |
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“Let us plead [to] God to stop the pandemic of arms large and small |
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which infects our world,” the Chicago-born pontiff told the crowd in |
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St. Peter’s Square following the weekly Sunday Angelus prayer. |
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Leo, speaking in his native English, said he was offering “prayers |
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for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the |
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American state of Minnesota” and the “countless children” who are |
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killed and injured every day. |
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Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, frequently condemned the arms |
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industry and warned that the use of guns by civilians to defend |
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themselves had become a Leo, who was elected in May, has continued to |
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condemn the “logic of weapons” and the arms trade, though in a |
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telegram sent in the immediate aftermath of the Minneapolis shooting he |
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refrained from making any comments about gun control. |
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In the past, however, a now-deleted X account apparently belonging to |
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Robert Prevost – before he was elected pope – re-posted statements |
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by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago calling for “increased access to |
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mental health care and stronger, sensible gun control laws” following |
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the 2017 shootings in Las Vegas. |
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He also shared a statement from Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who |
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wrote on the same incident: “To my colleagues: Your cowardice to act |
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cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless |
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we do something to stop it.” |
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Following the Minneapolis shooting, Cupich, who is close to Leo, issued |
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his own a : “The facts are clear. Guns are plentiful and common sense |
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attempts to limit their availability have been largely rejected in the |
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name of a freedom not found in our constitution.” |
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