Pope Francis said on Wednesday that his heart was broken by the killing of at least 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Texas.
Speaking at the end of his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 25, he said: “My heart is broken for the massacre at the elementary school in Texas. I am praying for the children and the adults killed and their families.”
“It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of weapons. Let us all work hard so that such tragedies can never happen again.”
His words were greeted with applause by pilgrims.
The pope was speaking after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, southwest Texas, on May 24, killing 21 people.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that officers were believed to have killed the shooter, a local 18-year-old identified as Salvador Ramos.
U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly said on May 25: “We are witnessing a sickness, and the face of evil. We continue to pray for these blessed children and other wonderful people who were killed and their families. We are crushed by this loss.”
Ambassador Chiara Porro, the Australian ambassador to the Holy See, responded: “Australia grieves with you. Our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by the horrific shootings.”
”The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said on May 24 that the country was facing an “epidemic of evil and violence.”
