Pax Christi USA, a section of an international movement working for peace rooted in Gospel nonviolence, is appalled by the ongoing gun violence taking place here and abroad, most recently at Brown University in Rhode Island and at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia.
We join Pope Leo XIV in condemning the pandemic of gun violence, a grave social sin which destroys families, shatters lives, and robs our world of its greatest resource – human potential. “Last weekend’s mass shootings at Brown University and on Bondi Beach in Sydney are tragic examples of the violence that is growing in our country and across the globe,” said Sherry Simon, member of Pax Christi USA’s Gun Violence Prevention working group. “Our hearts are broken by the violence that has touched these communities.”
Our colleagues at Pax Christi Australia write: “We extend our profound feelings of condolences to the Jewish community [in Australia] and all in the area who have been impacted by this violence. In this instance, we pray especially for the victims of this violence – the dead and the wounded, as well as those who are traumatised by their presence at the scene or those impacted by the events on media.”
Josephine Garnem, chair of Pax Christi USA’s national council, said, “In a moment like this, the peace of Christ calls us not away from the world, but more deeply into it—to stand with those who are grieving, to listen with reverence, and to refuse the normalization of harm – more specifically, to refuse the normalization of gun violence. We are profoundly grateful for all who are holding the families, students, and faculty in prayer and gathering in vigils; these acts of collective love are a powerful reminder that community is essential to our shared well-being. “
“We believe that even in the depths of suffering we also encounter the God of peace and justice who also sides with those who are victims in our world,” wrote Fr. Claude Mostowik, president of Pax Christi Australia. “All are precious in the eyes of God who is present in all.”
We give thanks for the brave responses by first responders and individuals such as Ahmed al-Ahmed, who suffered serious injury in his attempt to disarm one of the gunmen at Bondi Beach.
“If we are to turn the tide of this epidemic violence, we must take action,” said Simon, “returning to the foundational truth that all life is sacred and that all humans have dignity and deserve our respect. Our laws and those around the world must reflect this truth, prioritizing humanity over profit, by decreasing the number of assault weapons on our streets and providing common sense guardrails so that these weapons aren’t so easily accessible to those who would do harm.”
As we once again grieve the loss of lives through violence, Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA, encourages us that, “In this Advent season, let us cry out for the coming of Christ the Peacemaker and strive to follow his path of nonviolence and all inclusive love.”
Amen, amen I say to you… peace be with you.
With all due respect, gun violence in the USA (the recent shooting spree in New South Wales was an extension of the Gaza War) is part of our national historic DNA upon which prayers and pious clichés have little effect. So what’s the solution now that there are more firearms than inhabitants which precludes confiscating or disabling them? Along with mandatory screening for childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders before said disorders manifest lethally, we could de-glorify militarism. As psychiatric studies have shown, a nation that idolizes, glorifies and justifies killing for the « fatherland « inadvertently engenders its own killers.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD