LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Catholics around the world were shaken by last week's shooting during a welcome-back Mass at the Annunciation Catholic parish in Minneapolis. Pablo on Sunday denounced what he called a pandemic of arms. A few Catholic leaders in the U.S. demanded more protections against gun violence, including San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller.
GUSTAVO GARCIA-SILLER: We cannot just let these stories to continue piling up. And people are being killed, all ages and all over.
FADEL: Aleja Hertzler-McCain of Religion News Service reports on how Catholic leaders have responded to the attack.
ALEJA HERTZLER-MCCAIN, BYLINE: After the shooting, Catholic educators said they met for prayer in their communities. They also quickly got in contact with law enforcement. They're looking for any weaknesses in their safety plans. Karen Rebhan-Csuk, an education official in the Archdiocese of Chicago, said schools will be practicing drills within their sanctuaries.
KAREN REBHAN-CSUK: You don't think you need to practice that in the church, right? But now will our schools be doing that? Absolutely, they will be doing that - if they haven't already.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller was in Uvalde after the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School. He visited students in the hospital, consoled parents and celebrated nightly Masses. The archbishop said there have been memorials for Uvalde, but no meaningful changes in public policy.
GARCIA-SILLER: The changes have not happened in any way - not even in small ways.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: After hearing of the shooting in Minnesota, Garcia-Siller repeated his call for tighter gun safety laws.
GARCIA-SILLER: Alas, we heard about this last one. Again, all these arms in the hands of people that they should not have them, but that we as a society make those arms available.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Superintendent Paul Escala said spaces that traditionally may have seemed safe are no longer.
PAUL ESCALA: We've been very explicit with our schools and our churches that they need to now consider, if they hadn't before, the sanctuary as a area that could also be at risk.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: But, Escala said, Catholics and others should not give in to fear.
ESCALA: If we have one another and if we look out for one another - we truly have that neighborly approach to living in society - we can do a better job of protecting each other from this kind of violence.
HERTZLER-MCCAIN: At the same time, Escala said, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will be reviewing their schools' safety plans. For NPR News, I'm Aleja Hertzler-McCain.
FADEL: This story was produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service.
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