Skip to main content

Pope Francis appoints outspoken anti-gun bishops as new U.S. cardinals

From Guns.com

Pope Francis, shown above in his visit to the White House last summer, has named his first Catholic cardinals from the U.S. over the weekend. (Photo: AFP)Pope Francis, shown above in his visit to the White House last summer, has named his first Catholic cardinals from the U.S. over the weekend. (Photo: AFP)

Two of the first U.S. Catholic bishops elevated by Pope Francis to the rank of cardinal have been forthright in their feelings towards increased gun control.

On Sunday, the Vatican announced 17 new cardinals that would be made official at the Nov. 19 consistory at the Holy See. The appointments include three Americans: Archbishops Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis and Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, as well as Kevin Farrell, who was the Bishop of Dallas until September.

Both Cupich and Farrell — who is currently the Pope’s Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in Rome — have been publicly frank about gun control.

Last October, Cupich, current head of the 2.3 million Catholics of the Archdiocese of Chicago, delivered a scathing call to action against guns that was published in The Chicago Tribune.
“The Second Amendment was passed in an era when organized police forces were few and citizen militias were useful in maintaining the peace,” wrote Cupich in part of his 600-word opinion piece. “Its original authors could not have anticipated a time when the weapons we have a right to bear now include military-grade assault weapons that have turned our streets into battlefields.”
In response to a Texas law that went into effect this January to allow openly carried handguns, the Irish-born Farrell, then head of largest diocese in the state, decried “cowboy mentality” and declared church grounds off limits. As such, the religious figure ordered signage posted — allowed under state law — that bans the possession of any weapon in any facility owned, leased or operated by the million-member diocese.

“Sadly, Texas has become the 45th state to embrace the cowboy mentality that permits the open carrying of guns,” Farrell said. “It is difficult to see how this new law allowing persons with concealed handgun licenses to openly carry firearms can accomplish anything other than cause people to feel threatened and intimidated.”

The Pope himself has made remarks on several occasions in recent years that could be interpreted as anti-gun, last summer holding that weapons makers cannot call themselves Christian before reviling the global arms trade in a historic address to U.S. lawmakers.

“Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?” Francis asked in the first speech by a pope to Congress. “Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.”
The new cardinals announced over the weekend will bring the number to 56 that Francis has appointed since being elevated to papal status in 2014. They will join the over 200 members of the Vatican’s College of Cardinals, who advise the pope on church matters and, upon his death or resignation, elect a new pontiff.

Filed Under: Gun Laws, Politics & 2nd Amendment

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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

Catholic Priest Michael Pfleger and Thousands shut down Chicago highway with gun control march

Thousands of Chicago protesters shut down a major highway on Saturday to oppose gun violence and call for stronger gun laws. After an hour-long standstill, police announced they were shutting down all northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway to allow protesters to march on the road. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s police superintendent had voiced support for the protest, which was led by the Rev Michael Pfleger, the charismatic Catholic priest heading a largely African American church in one of the South Side neighborhoods hard-hit by gang violence. Illinois state police have jurisdiction over the interstate, and had threatened to arrest anyone who stepped on to the entry ramp. But protesters were allowed on to several lanes of highway on Saturday as corrections department buses waited alongside. Protestors chanted “shut it down.” Pfleger, the Rev Jesse Jackson and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson were walking side-by-side among them.  After lon

Gun control: Church firmly, quietly opposes firearms for civilians

VATICAN CITY -- The Catholic Church's position on gun control is not easy to find; there are dozens of speeches and talks and a few documents that call for much tighter regulation of the global arms trade, but what about private gun ownership? The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated. "The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated." But you won't find that statement in a headline or a document subheading. It's almost hidden in a footnote in a document on crime by the U.S. bishops' conference and it's mentioned in passing in dozens of official Vatican texts on the global arms trade. The most direct statement comes in the bishops' "Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice" from November 2000.