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catholicnewsherald.com | May 27, 2022 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
Bishop Peter Jugis offers guidance after shootings CNH: How could God allow these senseless shootings to happen, especially to innocent children? Bishop Jugis: God wills only good in the world; and one of the greatest goods He has given us is the gift of freedom. People can use this freedom to do good or do evil. When horrific acts occur like what we’ve witnessed in Texas, it is contrary to God’s will. It is an act of evil. When God became man in the person Bishop of Christ, He Peter J. Jugis entered into our world beset with abuses of freedom, evil and injustice. As seen on the cross, He is not a God indifferent to our suffering. He enters into our pain, our weakness and the ravages of sin. On the cross, in this great act of love, He shows us the way out of darkness and pain – lighting up for us the path of salvation, promising the righting of all wrongs, peace, and eternal life where there is no more possibility of sin and evil. Our Lord says to us, “I came so that (you) might have life and have it more abundantly.” CNH: What words of comfort have you given people who have experienced such profound grief? Bishop Jugis: The pain of loss is difficult in any circumstance. When it is an act of malice against innocent children, it is especially heartbreaking. In the face of such tragedy, there are only two things that can bring some measure of peace: our faith in God and the love we share with one another. Let us turn to both. And let us pray for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and firmness of purpose to bring an end to such violence. CNH: How should we respond as Christians to the increasing violence we are seeing happen around us? Bishop Jugis: Peace begins in the heart. Our first responsibility is to make sure we never surrender this peace and allow darkness, isolation and discord to overcome us and, in turn, to those around us. Secondly, we can be more attentive and loving to our family members, friends and neighbors. We must pray for God to give us the courage and charity needed to reach out and help those around us who may be succumbing to despair, who may be on the verge of breakdown – for their sake and the sake of others. — Catholic News Herald
Prayers, calls for stricter gun laws in wake of mass shootings Later on Wednesday, Archbishop García-Siller comforted families who waited outside a local civic center in Uvalde waiting for news of WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Francis and the U.S. Catholic bishops their loved ones. are decrying three mass shootings that happened within 12 days in “When will these insane acts of violence end?” the archbishop later the U.S. – calling for leaders to “search their souls” and find ways to said in a statement. “It is too great a burden to bear. The word tragedy end the “epidemic” of gun violence. doesn’t begin to describe what occurred. These massacres cannot be A May 14 shooting at a grocery store in a predominantly Africanconsidered ‘the new normal.’” American neighborhood of Buffalo, N.Y., killed 10 people and injured “The Catholic Church consistently calls for the protection of all life; three more. The next day in a separate incident, one person was killed and these mass shootings are a most pressing life issue on which all and five others wounded in a shooting at a Taiwanese Presbyterian in society must act – elected leaders and citizens alike,” he said. “We church in Laguna Woods, Calif. Law enforcement officials made arrests pray that God comfort and offer compassion to the families of these and are investigating little ones whose pain both as hate crimes. is unbearable.” On Tuesday, A May 24 statement a shooting at an from the U.S. elementary school in Conference of Catholic Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 Bishops said, “There children and 2 adults, have been too many with more than a dozen school shootings, others injured. too much killing of Texas authorities the innocent. Our said an 18-year-old Catholic faith calls wearing body armor us to pray for those evaded police after who have died and to crashing his truck near bind the wounds of the school close to the others, and we join our U.S-Mexico border prayers along with the and entered the school community in Uvalde building armed with and Archbishop two assault weapons. Gustavo García-Siller. Authorities named As we do so, each of Salvador Ramos as the us also needs to search shooter and said he our souls for ways was killed by police. that we can do more The May 24 shooting to understand this at Robb Elementary epidemic of evil and School was the violence and implore deadliest school CNS | BRENDAN MCDERMID, REUTERS our elected officials to shooting since the 2012 A boy writes a message on a sidewalk May 18 in Buffalo, N.Y., where a mass shooting took place May 14 at a Tops help us take action.” massacre at Sandy supermarket. The shooting was the first of three mass casualty events within the past two weeks in the U.S., The U.S. bishops’ Hook Elementary in prompting Pope Francis and Catholic bishops to issue calls for prayer, peace and an end to the violence. statement echoed one Newtown, Conn. issued just a few days On Wednesday, Pope earlier, in the wake of Francis prayed publicly for the victims of the Texas shooting and said the Buffalo and Laguna Woods shootings – offering prayers for the it was time to say “Enough!” and enact stricter laws on gun sales. dead and injured and urging support for the families, friends and “With a heart shattered over the massacre at the elementary school communities impacted by the violence. in Texas, I pray for the children and adults who were killed and for “The Catholic Church has been a consistent voice for rational yet their families,” he told the crowd gathered for his weekly general effective forms of regulation of dangerous weapons, and the USCCB audience. continues to advocate for an end to violence, and for the respect and “It is time to say, ‘Enough!’ to the indiscriminate trafficking of dignity of all lives,” the statement said. guns,” the pope said. “Let’s all work to ensure that such tragedies On Wednesday, some U.S. bishops spoke out against the easy never happen again.” accessibility to guns in the country. Shortly before the audience, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of “Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem, people are. I’m sick of San Antonio, an archdiocese that includes Uvalde, tweeted: “Holy hearing it,” Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tweeted May Father Pope Francis, say some prayers for the souls of our little ones 25. “The darkness first takes our children who then kill our children, killed today and two teachers. Uvalde is in mourning. The families are using the guns that are easier to obtain than aspirin. We sacralize having a very dark time. Your prayer will do good to them.” death’s instruments and then are surprised that death uses them.” CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
Parishes, schools in the Diocese of Charlotte join the Church’s call to pray for peace CHARLOTTE — Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte are responding to the recent acts of violence with prayer. Bishop Peter Jugis is calling for a special prayer for peace during Masses this weekend in churches throughout the Diocese of Charlotte. In the Prayers of the Faithful, the following prayer is suggested: “We pray for those affected by the recent shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods and now at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas …for the deceased and their families, that they may know Your heavenly peace promised by Jesus Christ; …for the perpetrators and those tempted by darkness and violence, that they may surrender to Your infinite mercy; …for all who feel vulnerable, frightened, or anxious by these acts of senseless evil, that they may find consolation in the promise of Your eternal kingdom. We pray to the Lord…”
On Wednesday, the diocese’s three high schools simultaneously observed a moment of prayer to remember the lives of 19 students and two teachers killed Tuesday at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The schools held a moment of silence and then recited a special prayer for victims, their families, and the perpetrator and his family. Elementary and middle schools across the diocese also offered special moments of prayer Wednesday at the principals’ discretion. Father Timothy Reid, Vicar of Education for the diocese’s 20 schools in western North Carolina, wrote Wednesday in a message to parents: “As Catholic school communities, we are called to support one another in times of suffering. As you pray with your family in the upcoming days, I certainly encourage you to pray for all those affected by this tragedy, but also to pray for peace, healing and protection within our own school communities.” — Catholic News Herald
