VATICAN CITY. Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church, called for an end to what he described as the “pandemic of arms” following a mass shooting on August 27 at a Catholic school in Minnesota that claimed the lives of two children.
“Our prayers (go) for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” the pope said in English during his weekly address in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.
“Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms large and small, which infects our world,” he added.
Elected in May after the death of Pope Francis, Leo has so far shown a more reserved style, generally avoiding spontaneous remarks and favoring a cautious tone in his public messages.
Sunday’s statement also marked a rare moment when the pope addressed global events in his native English, as he typically delivers official appeals in Italian.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
