Atlanta archbishop to restrict guns at Catholic churches in Georgia

Catholic institutions in Georgia will restrict firearms from their sanctuaries, schools and other institutions following Gov. Nathan Deal’s approval of legislation that widely expands the state’s gun laws.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory wrote in a column in the Georgia Bulletin that he will “officially restrict” the presence of weapons in Georgia’s Catholic churches and religious institutions.
Limited exceptions could be made for members of the military, law enforcement officials and others authorized by the government to protect the public, Gregory said.
Wrote Gregory:

The last thing we need is more firearms in public places, especially in those places frequented by children and the vulnerable. I do not want to suggest restricting firearms in places where they are needed, to protect one’s home and property or to defend the public by officials who are entrusted with our protection. Yet this new legislation de facto makes firearms more available in places where they may allow violence to escalate.

Gregory’s comments follow a directive issued Monday by Bishop Robert Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta that also banned firearms from Episcopal churches in middle and north Georgia. The only exception to that policy will be on-duty law enforcement officers.
In fact, guns are now banned in every Episcopal church in Georgia. Here’s a rather definitive, April 24 letter from the Right Rev. Scott Anson Benhase, bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Georgia:
The broad expansion of gun rights, signed into law last week, allows Georgians to legally carry firearms in places including schools, bars and government buildings. It also for the first time expressly permits licensed concealed-weapons holders to bring firearms into the state’s churches, provided that an individual place of worship allows it.

Comments

Pope Francis: Gun-makers are hypocrites if they call themselves Christians

MAX ROSSI/REUTERS Pope Francis criticized weapons manufacturers who call themselves Christians on Sunday. “They say one thing and do another,” he said. TURIN, Italy — People who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, Pope Francis said on Sunday. Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin. "If you trust only men you have lost," he told the young people in a long, rambling talk about war, trust and politics after putting aside his prepared address. "It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn't it?" he said to applause. He also criticized those who invest in weapons industries, saying "duplicity is the cur...

A day after March for Our Lives, Pope urges youth to speak out

Pope Francis blesses attendees and palm leaves during at St Peter's square on March 25, 2018 (CNN) A day after hundreds of thousands of people protested gun violence at March for Our Lives events in the US and around the globe, Pope Francis called on the world's youth to continue speaking out and standing up. "Dear young people, you have it in you to shout," the Pope said in his Palm Sunday address at St. Peter's Square in Rome. Pope Francis at the the end of Palm Sunday Mass in Vatican City Palm Sunday -- celebrated on the Sunday before Easter -- is commemorated by Christians as the day Jesus entered Jerusalem in the week of his crucifixion, when palm leaves were strewn in his path. Noting that this Palm Sunday coincides with World Youth Day, the pontiff used the opportunity to compare youth to Jesus's followers, who were scorned by his detractors. "It is up to you not to keep quiet," Pope Francis said. "...

Pope Francis prays for Texas shooting victims and calls for stricter gun control

article link VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Saying his heart was broken at the news of at least 19 children and two adults being shot and killed at a Texas elementary school, Pope Francis said it was time to say “Enough!” and enact stricter laws on gun sales. At the end of his weekly general audience May 25, with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope prayed publicly for the victims of the shooting the day before at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. “With a heart shattered over the massacre at the elementary school in Texas, I pray for the children and adults who were killed and for their families,” the pope told the crowd. “With a heart shattered over the massacre at the elementary school in Texas, I pray for the children and adults who were killed and for their families,” the pope said. Tweet this “It is time to say, ‘Enough!’ to the indiscriminate trafficking of guns,” the pope said. “Let’s all work to ensure that such tragedies never happen again...

Vatican Gun Control

Search This Blog