Condolences, prayers, solidarity mixed with grief; reactions to yesterday's shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School Mass

 

Shooting at Annunciation Church, which is also home to an elementary school, in Minneapolis (Tim Evans

Church

• United States
• violence
• children
• catholic church

Church in US in mourning following Minneapolis tragedy

The church in the United States expresses its grief and condolences following Wednesday's tragedy in Minneapolis, where a young man opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. The attack resulted in the deaths of two children and around seventeen injured before the shooter took his own life.

Vatican News

Messages of condolence, solidarity and prayer have poured into the community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States where a young man opened fire on Wednesday during Mass before the start of classes at Annunciation Catholic School. Two children died in the attack and seventeen others sustained injuries, according to initial reports, while the shooter took his own life.

Cardinal de Mendonça offers heartfelt condolences

Read also

27/08/2025

Pope Leo expresses sorrow over shooting at Catholic school in Minneapolis

Upon hearing the terrible news, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, sent a telegram to Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda, expressing his “heartfelt condolences" over the deaths of the two children during the celebration of Mass.  The message assured the community of "fervent prayers for the victims and their families" and "spiritual closeness to the entire community affected." Cardinal de Mendonça noted how this heartbreaking incident shows the need for Catholic education to renew its efforts in the face of today’s challenges "in order to continue building a culture of fraternity, founded on a peace that is both unarmed and disarming.”

Cardinal Cupich prays for victims, urges action

In a statement issued on Wednesday 27 August, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, said "we join our prayers with others that those injured in body and spirit will heal and that the murdered children will be received into heaven, we must also cry out for action to prevent even one more such tragedy." Noting sadly that such shootings and violence have become commonplace, this incident "hits close to home" since it occurred at a Catholic school and the gunman shot through the windows of a church where the children and their teachers were at prayer to mark the start of the school year. He writes: "If any place should have been safe, it should have been there. If any time should have been safe, it should have been then. Tragically, we know no place or time when Americans – even children – are safe from the curse of gun violence."

Cardinal Cupich encouraged offering prayers for "those who hold the power to make the safety of our people a national priority," and for "God to give them the courage to take the steps they know will alleviate if not eliminate the fear parents must feel sending their children off to school...surely they must be moved by these shootings. We pray that they will not see them as inevitable because then we will have certainly surrendered our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Cardinal Tobin prays for comfort to the grieving

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, urged the faithful to join him in prayer for all those affected by the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School, noting how "what should have been a joyful beginning to a new academic year was instead shattered by senseless violence." In a a message posted online, he said, "we hold close in prayer the children, families, teachers and parish community of Annunciation" and that "no child should ever face fear in a place of learning and worship, and no parent should endure the loss of a child to violence." In conclusion, he writes, "May Christ our Redeemer bring comfort to the grieving and peace to all who mourn."

Cardinal Dolan, solidarity with the victims

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, in a social media post, expressed profound sadness over the attack, writing, "once again, we are shocked and horrified by the news of another senseless shooting, this time all the more disturbing because it happened at a Catholic church and school, which should always be sanctuaries of peace. We mourn the two innocent children whose lives were cut short by this dreadful tragedy and hold in our intentions the seventeen wounded." He added, "we join in compassionate solidarity with the countless families of the city of Minneapolis, Annunciation Catholic school, and beyond who have been touched by an unthinkable grief caused by mind-numbing gun violence which has become all too common. We pray for an end to all violence in our hearts, in our communities, and in our world."

At Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV meets with pilgrims from United States representing Latin Catholics, Byzantine Catholics and Greek Orthodox

 

Pope Leo poses with pilgrims on an ecumenical Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin (l) and Metropolitan Elpidophoros (r)  (@VATICAN MEDIA)

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• ecumenism
• Pope Leo XIV
• Castel Gandolfo
• christians

Pope Leo XIV: Seek grace to pursue path of unity and fraternal charity

At Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV received Greek Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, and Latin Catholic pilgrims from the United States who are taking part in an ecumenical pilgrimage to Rome, Constantinople, and Nicea.

By Christopher Wells

A joint Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage to Rome, Constantinople, and Nicea “is one of the abundant fruits of the ecumenical movement aimed at restoring full unity among all Christ’s disciples,” Pope Leo XIV told participants in the pilgrimage on Thursday, as he welcomed them to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

The pilgrimage “From Rome to New Rome” comprises fifty Greek Orthodox, Byzantine Catholic, and Latin Catholic pilgrims from the United States, and is being led by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.

In his greetings, Pope Leo noted that the pilgrimage is intended “to return to the sources”: to Rome, where Sts Peter and Paul were martyred; Constantinople—now Istanbul—associated with St Andrew; and to Nicea, the site of the first Ecumenical Council 1700 years ago this year.

The Pope went on to highlight the common celebration of Easter in 2025, observed on the same date by those who follow both the Gregorian and Julian liturgical calendars, which allowed all Christians to proclaim together the Easter Alleluia, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”

Those words, Pope Leo XIV said, proclaim the passion and resurrection of Jesus, “the Lamb that was slain” to redeem us from “the darkness of sin and death.” The redemption won by Christ “inspires us with great hope” while also calling us “to be witnesses and bearers of hope,” recalling the motto of the Jubilee Year, pilgrims of hope.

“It is my hope that your pilgrimage will confirm all of you in the hope born of our faith in the Risen Lord!” Pope Leo said.

Looking ahead to the group’s visit to Constantinople, the Pope asked the pilgrims to convey his greetings to the Patriarch Bartholomew, saying he hoped to meet him again in person during the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicea.

The Holy Father went on to describe the group’s ecumenical pilgrimage as one of the many signs that “already manifest the theological progress and the dialogue of charity that mark recent decades,” especially since the Joint Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras removing the mutual excommunications that followed the break in relations between Rome and Constantinople in 1054.

“For our part,” the Pope said, “we too must continue to implore from the Paraclete, the Consoler, the grace to pursue the path of unity and fraternal charity.” Looking ahead to the two-thousandth anniversary of the Redemption, Pope Leo said, “Spiritually, we must all return to Jerusalem, the City of Peace,” where the Apostles received the Holy Spirit before going on to bear witness to Christ “to the ends of the earth.”

Pope Leo concluded his address with the prayer, “May our return to the roots of our faith make all of us experience the gift of God’s consolation and make us capable, like the Good Samaritan, of pouring out the oil of consolation and the wine of gladness on today’s humanity.”

Cardinals across Rome use Sunday to deliver homilies days before start of conclave

 Cardinals' homilies before conclave speak volumes

RNS — While some cardinals emphasized continuity with Pope Francis, others put the spotlight on tradition.

Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, left, distributes Communion at St. Gabriel the Archangel, his titular church in the Rome suburb of Della Vittoria, May 4, 2025. (RNS photo/Claire Giangravé)

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — At a church in a Roman suburb on Sunday (May 4), Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa preached on a story from the Gospel of John in which Jesus’ followers in the days after his death returned to their day jobs, afraid to rile those who put Jesus to death. He used the passage to pray for God to embolden the cardinals gathered in Rome in their work electing a new pope.

“We ask that the Holy Spirit, who encouraged the apostles to challenge the fear and the ire of the authorities of the time, to enlighten our cardinals who will gather in two days to elect a pope for the universal church who has an unshakable faith and is ready to face the challenges of the world today,” Ambongo told the congregation at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Della Vittoria.

Ambongo, considered a possible candidate to succeed Pope Francis, who died April 21, knows about the ire of the authorities. Appointed metropolitan archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro in 2016 and later vice president of that country’s bishops’ conference, Ambongo supported Catholic clergy and lay protests against President Joseph Kabila’s attempt to delay elections. Ambongo asked for an investigation to hold government forces accountable for violent suppression of protesters.

He became the head of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in 2018 and Francis made him a cardinal the following year, after which Ambongo joined the Council of Cardinals advising the pope in his reform of the curia in 2020. Since 2023 he has served as president of the Symposium of Bishops Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

“I am not here for Congo, or for Africa. I am here for the universal church. Our concern is for the universal church. When we are finished, I will return to Kinshasa and I will put on my hat as archbishop of Kinshasa and the fight continues,” Ambongo said. 

At churches around Rome on Sunday, the cardinals who will begin their voting for pope on Wednesday made customary visits to their “titular” churches — where they are honorary members of the clergy as part of their rights as cardinals — to express their thoughts on what kind of pope, or what kind of church, they are looking for.

The passage from John, in which Jesus appears to the disconsolate apostles and tells the first pope, St. Peter, “Feed my flock,” was the Gospel reading at Francis’ funeral Mass. The cardinals would hear it again Sunday evening, at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica marking the end of the Novemdiales, the nine days of mourning that follow the death of a pope.

The pontiff who urged his priests to have “the smell of the sheep” — to stay close to the faithful, not walled up inside their churches and doctrinal beliefs — seemed to be sending a message from beyond the grave. But on Sunday Vatican observers, keen to pick up any clues to how the cardinals will vote, strained to hear the messages being sent from the pulpits of Rome.

Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo of Ajaccio, who supported Francis’ concern for migrants and refugees, said in his homily at Santa Maria Immacolata di Lourdes a Boccea that Jesus “doesn’t ask if you are strong, if you have a marketing strategy, if you can speak languages.” Instead, he asks “to love him until the end,” which means “we must be docile and responsible.”

At Santa Maria ai Monti, Cardinal Jean-Marc Noël Aveline of Marseille said the reading was about Jesus’ call to love and welcome others. “Let’s not be afraid of those who are different from us. Because every man, every woman is a brother, a sister, for whom Christ has died,” Aveline, who is considered a Francis-like candidate to the papacy, said. 

Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdo, a favorite contender for the papacy among conservative prelates, focused on history and tradition at the church of St. Francesca Romana, and touched on the need to promote collegiality among bishops, and the “decisive” role that bishops have in running local dioceses.

Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdo, bottom center, speaks at St. Francesca Romana Church in Rome, May 4, 2025. (RNS photo/Aleja Hertzler-McCain)

“We pray for the conclave, for the new pope who will be elected for the church who will have to fulfill his mission at a dramatic moment for the history of the church,” Erdo said.

But many cardinals, encountering journalists outside their churches after Mass, declined to offer an interpretation of their remarks. Ambongo, considered the leader of the resistance by some African cardinals against Francis’ 2023 opening to bless same-sex couples, was asked about the issue of LGBTQ outreach outside San Gabriele, but said only that the cardinals are “not (concerned) with the controversies.”

He also denied having spoken to conservative American cardinals such as Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke at pre-conclave meetings known as general congregations. “Americans can talk to each other; Africans can talk to each other, but the work is the work of the Holy Spirit,” he said. About his chances of being elected pope, he said: “Why not? Every Catholic can become pope, that is the law, everyone, not just cardinals.”

Two American cardinals were more forthcoming. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, arriving by subway at the church of St. Mary of the Graces, said the cardinals are converging on an emphasis on continuity with Francis’ pontificate. “There is no going back,” he said.

New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s homily at Our Lady of Guadalupe church was quick, citing Francis’ distaste for long-winded homilies, but the cardinal took time to tell reporters afterward that the cardinals are looking for a candidate who can match Francis’ humility and charisma with Pope Benedict XVI’s “intellect” and Pope John Paul II’s “bravery.”

Dolan also dealt briefly with reporters’ questions about a post on the White House X account showing an artificial-intelligence-generated photo of U.S. President Donald Trump as pontiff that irked some Catholics. “It wasn’t good,” said Dolan, calling it “a brutta figura,” or “bad form” in Italian.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin distressed by murder of local Iman

 

Newark cardinal ‘deeply distressed’ by violent death of local imam

By John Lavenburg

Jan 5, 2024

NEW YORK – In response to the violent death of a local imam, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark has said he is “deeply distressed by the loss of a “revered faith and community leader.”

Imam Hassan Sharif of the Masjid Muhammed Mosque in Newark died Jan. 3 after he was shot multiple times outside of the mosque that morning. Sharif was transported to University Hospital in critical condition, but succumbed to his injuries in the early afternoon.

“I join with the people of Newark and surrounding communities deeply distressed by the tragic loss of Imam Hassan Sharif of Masjid Muhammed Mosque,” Tobin said in a Jan. 4 statement. “Imam Sharif was a revered faith and community leader in our city who spoke out against violence in our streets and neighborhoods.”

According to local authorities, the shooting occurred just after 6:00 a.m., with Sharif incurring multiple bullet wounds to his abdomen and left arm. He was found by police who reported to the scene, and promptly transported to the hospital.

A suspect or motive for the shooting has not been determined at this point. Authorities have said there is no evidence so far that suggests the shooting was a hate crime.

Sharif had been a transportation officer at Newark Liberty International Airport since 2006. He had been imam at the mosque for five years, and was remembered as a community leader.

“I share the grief of all who mourn the death of this faithful leader and join my prayers with those of his family and friends and our sisters and brothers in the Muslim community,” Tobin said. “May the God of peace grace our hearts and minds and make His home in our city.”

In a Jan. 3 statement, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka condemned the violence, and said that “Sharif stood with the people of this city, and we will stand with him and his family.

“I mourn the death of Imam Hassan Sharif and know any expression of condolence and comfort for his family and loved ones is inadequate. Our hearts are broken,” Baraka said.

“As a city, we mourn so much today, but we must refuse to mourn our capacity to love each other and to embody our ideals for tolerance and understanding, acceptance, and equality,” Baraka continued. “We must continue to build a Newark that serves as a safe refuge for all – and where justice is served to those who act out in violence.”

Tuesday wrap-up of Synod activities

 

Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, a Colombian religious of the Company of Mary Our Lady, US Cardinal Joseph William Tobin (right) and Paolo Ruffini (left) at the briefing on the work of the Synod on 10 October 

POPE

• SYNOD
• SYNODALITY
• PAOLO RUFFINI
• CARDINALS
• UNITED STATES
• COLOMBIA
• RELIGIOUS

Synod, ‘the beautiful Church is the Church of open doors'

In Tuesday’s press briefing with journalists, the president of the Commission for Information, Dr Paolo Ruffini, gave an update on the work of the small groups on the second module of the Instrumentum laboris. US Cardinal Tobin spoke of the richness of the comparison of different experiences and cultures, while Colombian Sister Echeverri spoke about “the call to listen to the cry of the poor.”

By Alessandro Di Bussolo

The true beauty of the Catholic Church “becomes evident when its doors are open and welcome people. We hope that the Synod will help us open them even more.” That is how US Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, the Archbishop of Newark, described the theme of the second module of the Instrumentum laboris. The module is focusing on the theme: “A communion that radiates: How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?” which was discussed in small groups Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Cardinal Tobin was speaking at the press briefing on the work of the assembly, which was led by the president of the Commission for Information, Dr Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.

Confrontation in the Minor Circles on the second module

In the small groups, participants in the General Assembly discussed education, the environment, multiculturalism and walking with the marginalised and migrants. On Monday, they elected the members of the Commission for the Synthesis Report and those of the Commission. The small groups, which were organized on the basis of the themes being dealt with, discussed the subsections of document B1 dedicated to communion, and will present the their reflections in the fifth general congregation this afternoon and in the sixth and seventh congregations tomorrow.

Ruffini: great sharing among all participants

Responding to journalists’ questions, Dr Ruffini emphasised that in this, his third Synod, members have many more opportunities to speak, especially in the small groups. “There is a great sharing among all the participants, according to my personal experience,” he said, “which began with the pre-synodal retreat.” Cardinal Tobin for his part, responding to a question about the assembly being directed from the top down, said he was “confident, because things are not coming to us from above, but it is a process that starts from the bottom, from the involvement of the People of God, and arrives at the top. I do not feel constrained or handcuffed.”

Sister Echeverri: We listen to the cry of the poor, migrants, and the excluded

In addition to Cardinal Tobin, a Redemptorist religious and member of the Ordinary Council of the Secretariat of the Synod, the briefing was also attended by Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, a Colombian religious of the Order of the Company of Mary Our Lady, president of the Latin-American Confederation of Religious (CLAR) and a witness to the Synod Process. As usual, Sheila Leocádia Pires, secretary of the Synod Information Commission, also spoke.

Sr Echeverri emphasised that among the participants in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, there is a desire to live like Jesus “Who humanises, Who dignifies, Who includes, a Jesus who opens the door to the other.” It is a process “that sees a different method, starting with conversion in the Spirit. In our smaller circles we recognise precisely this common dignity, a dignity that springs from respect, communion, mutual recognition.” In the discussion on the current module, “resounding in our hearts is the call to listen to the cry of the poor. At our table, the face of the poor, migration, people trafficking, social exclusion in the peripheries resounded loudly.”

Tobin: the fascination of dialogue in multiculturality

Cardinal Tobin, who is in the same circle as Sr Echeverri, explained that a young woman from Russia, a mother from Ukraine. and a Pentecostal pastor from Ghana, a theologian from Malaysia and the coordinator from Singapore were also in the group. “It is an optimal situation for me,” he commented, “to be in such a diverse group and to be able to listen to others. This, he said was fascinating for him, having grown up in Detroit in a multicultural environment, and who as a priest for 45 years has lived “in cultures that weren’t my own, at least the one iI was raised in.” He described this as "the most diverse Synod I’ve ever participated in.”

“The Church's option is fraternity: there is room for everyone”

Cardinal Tobin also shared a concrete pastoral experience, the reception in Newark Cathedral of “a pilgrimage of people who felt marginalised because of their sexual orientation.” That, he said, was an open Church experience. And he concluded that in a world characterised by exclusionary nationalism, by xenophobia, in which there are leaders who are committed to building borders, the Church's option is that of fraternity, of synodality, an option that enables us to understand that we are all brothers and sisters. In a Church in which we see ourselves as brothers and sisters, he said, there is room for everyone.”

Cardinal Tobin says end killing by voluntarily forgoing our Second Right Amendment

 

Newark cardinal asks Americans to voluntarily forgo right to guns

By John Lavenburg

Jun 1, 2023

NEW YORK – Amid a mounting debate in America over the constitutionality of gun control, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark has entered the fray with a different argument: That people should voluntarily forgo their Second Amendment rights for the betterment of society.

“I honestly believe it is the best thing we can do to change the culture of violence that threatens us today,” Tobin said.

“Let’s voluntarily set aside our rights in order to witness the truth that only peace and never violence, is the way to build a free society that is lived concretely in our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, our nation and our world,” he said.

Tobin made the plea in a recent letter, “Pray for an end to all instances of violence,” where he calls on community leaders and Catholic bishops, himself included, to call for a “synodal effort” to actively resist gun violence. He proposed a threefold process that includes prayer and work, advocacy, and voluntary self-restraint from the Second Amendment.

The letter, published May 26, is the latest call to action amid a spate of mass shootings in recent months. May 30 marked the 150th day of 2023, over which time there have been 263 mass shootings – incidents with four or more people shot – that have led to 327 deaths.

Both figures are records for this early in the year.

Memorial Day weekend was especially violent. Nationwide there were at least 20 mass shootings that left 16 people dead, and at least 80 more injured.

The data comes from the Gun Violence Archive, which has tracked all gun related injuries and deaths in the U.S. since 2013. The organization reports that as of May 31 there have been a total 17,629 gun violence deaths in the U.S. – 7,663 homicides, and 9,966 suicides.

There were 20,200 gun violence deaths in all of 2022, and 21,009 in 2021, the organization reported.

A 2018 report by the Small Arms Survey, an organization that tracks violence globally, found that U.S. gun owners possess 393.3 million firearms, which is well above the nation’s 331.9 million population.

With that in mind, Tobin made the case that while legislation and regulations are necessary, in the case of gun violence, as with all life issues, it’s equally as important to “regulate our behavior in order to protect the vulnerable and ensure the common good.”

“It’s true that we have a Second Amendment right to bear arms, but rights always involve responsibilities – in this case, the responsibility to protect the innocent and to secure public safety and good order,” Tobin said. “The mass shootings we are witnessing almost weekly now are a serious threat to the lives and well-being of all people.”

In the cardinal’s threefold synodal process, he echoes what other U.S. prelates have said, stating that prayers alone aren’t enough to adequately address the issue. Instead, Tobin said that Catholics must combine prayer with action to prevent the root causes of gun violence.

Under the second part of the process, advocacy, Tobin calls on Catholics to make their voices heard.

“As an integral part of our efforts to prevent gun violence, all Americans should make local, state and federal officials know how we feel about this critical issue,” he said. “We should make our voices heard, demanding that actions be taken to protect the vulnerable and keep our communities safe.”

The third and final part of Tobin’s process is self-restraint, which he acknowledges is a challenging and controversial proposal that won’t alone solve the problem of gun violence, but could help change the culture.

“The voluntary self-restraint that I am calling for will not solve the problem of gun violence all by itself, but it can help us change our culture from one that is obsessively focused on individuals’ rights to a society dedicated to ensuring the common good,” Tobin said.

Tobin cited Pope Francis’s statement that “violence is not the cure for our broken world.”

“Please join me in praying for an end to all instances of violence, especially gun violence in our schools, churches, places of business and in the public square,” Tobin said.