In the wake of yet another mass shooting at an American school, the leadership of the Society of the Sacred Heart in the Unites States-Canada Province joins its voice to those of the surviving students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and people of good will from all faiths across this country who are demanding an end to the legislative paralysis that prevent common sense gun control from being enacted in this country.
As educators responsible for the safety of students in the 24 Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the US and Canada, we share in a special way the anguish of the teachers, administrators and parents in schools where the unthinkable has happened. As an organization committed to “Revealing God’s Love in the Heart of the world” we struggle to help students reconcile this senseless loss of life with a compassion that is deep enough and brave enough to seek solutions to the brokenness that causes such violence.
We agree with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops when, in support of a ban on Assault Weapons they said “We must respond. Violence—in our homes, our schools and streets, our nation and the world—is destroying the lives, dignity and hopes of millions of our sisters and brothers.”
With Pope Francis we call for our legislators to overcome partisan differences and “go out and meet the other in dialogue, pardon and reconciliation, in order to rebuild justice, trust, and hope around you.” (Pope Francis, Jan 1, 2014)
