On Gun Violence | “Let us disarm our hearts”

“Every person is called to disarm his own heart and be a peacemaker everywhere.”  —Pope Benedict

As the scourge of gun violence ravages our communities, we are invited to reflect on our Church’s guidance on this issue to form our consciences, inform our thinking about the place of guns in our society, and so uphold the sacredness of human life.

• USCCB’s Letter to Congress | On June 3, 2022 the Bishop Chairmen of the USCCB’s Committees on Family Life, Pro-Life Activities, Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Catholic Education wrote to Congress to urge investments in mental health resources and policies that support family stability, as well as passage of red flag laws, expansion of background checks and limitations on civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines.
• USCCB’s 2020 Backgrounder on Gun Violence | The U.S. Bishops’ 2020 Backgrounder on Gun Violence: A Mercy and Peacebuilding Approach to Gun Violence, urges common-sense actions to respond to the violence that destroys lives and hope.
• Bishop Dewane’s “Responses to the Plague of Gun Violence” | On November 11, 2019, Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, FL, then-Chair of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Peace, addressed the Bishops’ General Assembly on ‘Responses to the Plague of Gun Violence.’