To gun violence, Archbishop Cupich says 'Enough!'
Here are the ingredients of a tragedy: untreated mental illness, a society where life is cheap and crime is glamorized, and a ready supply of firearms. As we recently saw yet again, a misguided, angry young man with an arsenal of stockpiled weapons ended the lives of those with the misfortune of simply being at school.
Closer to home, nearly a dozen human beings in the Archdiocese of Chicago fell victim to gun violence during the past two weeks. And those injured, maimed and traumatized were simply too many to count. Among the wounded were 10- and 11-month-old infants. Princeton Chew, the 11-month-old, will not remember his grandmother or his mother, who both died in the Back of the Yards shooting. He will never know the brother or sister his mother carried.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has consistently called for "reasonable regulation and controls for guns, especially handguns." It also wants to ban "assault weapons." After the 2012 murders of 20 first-graders and six staff members at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, the USCCB sent testimony to Congress the following year. "This is the moment," said the USCCB spokesperson who testified before Congress, "to push for better gun controls. We want to build a culture of life and confront the culture of violence." That moment came and went without meaningful action.
Let's be honest. The Second Amendment was passed in an era when organized police forces were few and citizen militias were useful in maintaining the peace. 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. The Second Amendment's original intent has been perverted by those who, as Pope Francis recently commented, have profited mightily. Surely there is a middle ground between the original intent of the amendment and the carnage we see today.
Recently, the city of Chicago adopted a tough ordinance to tightly regulate gun stores here. I applaud Chicago's leadership for taking this important step to protect our children and families. For this measure to truly be effective, however, the General Assembly must pass a similar law, especially considering how many guns are sold in gun shops located outside of Chicago.
Members of Congress stood late last month to applaud Pope Francis' call for an end to the weapons industry that is motivated by "money that is drenched in blood," and to endorse his call "to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade." Surely America's political leaders did not think the pope's comments were limited to arms trade outside of America's borders.
It is no longer enough for those of us involved in civic leadership and pastoral care to comfort the bereaved and bewildered families of victims of gun violence. It is time to heed the words of Pope Francis and take meaningful and swift action to address violence in our society. We must band together to call for gun-control legislation. We must act in ways that promote the dignity and value of human life. And we must do it now.
Blase J. Cupich is the Roman Catholic archbishop of Chicago.
Closer to home, nearly a dozen human beings in the Archdiocese of Chicago fell victim to gun violence during the past two weeks. And those injured, maimed and traumatized were simply too many to count. Among the wounded were 10- and 11-month-old infants. Princeton Chew, the 11-month-old, will not remember his grandmother or his mother, who both died in the Back of the Yards shooting. He will never know the brother or sister his mother carried.
Let's be honest. The Second Amendment was passed in an era when organized police forces were few and citizen militias were useful in maintaining the peace. 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. The Second Amendment's original intent has been perverted by those who, as Pope Francis recently commented, have profited mightily. Surely there is a middle ground between the original intent of the amendment and the carnage we see today.
Recently, the city of Chicago adopted a tough ordinance to tightly regulate gun stores here. I applaud Chicago's leadership for taking this important step to protect our children and families. For this measure to truly be effective, however, the General Assembly must pass a similar law, especially considering how many guns are sold in gun shops located outside of Chicago.
Members of Congress stood late last month to applaud Pope Francis' call for an end to the weapons industry that is motivated by "money that is drenched in blood," and to endorse his call "to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade." Surely America's political leaders did not think the pope's comments were limited to arms trade outside of America's borders.
It is no longer enough for those of us involved in civic leadership and pastoral care to comfort the bereaved and bewildered families of victims of gun violence. It is time to heed the words of Pope Francis and take meaningful and swift action to address violence in our society. We must band together to call for gun-control legislation. We must act in ways that promote the dignity and value of human life. And we must do it now.
Blase J. Cupich is the Roman Catholic archbishop of Chicago.
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