THE Bishop of West Texas, the Rt Revd David Reed, has condemned the “evil done to little children” who were killed on Tuesday morning during a shooting in a primary school in Texas.
An 18-year-old gunman, named as Salvador Ramos, opened fire in Robb Elementary School, in the city of Uvalde, in the United States, less than 80 miles from the Mexican border, before being shot dead by a US Border Patrol official who was near by, police said. Nineteen children and two adults, both teachers, were killed.
Shortly after the shootings, prayer vigils were held in Getty Street Church of Christ, less than a mile from the school, and in Sacred Heart RC Church, which is also close by.
In a letter published on his diocesan website on Tuesday evening, Bishop Reed wrote that the school was “not somewhere far off, but within the Diocese of West Texas . . . of which the beautiful parish family of St Philip’s is a vital part”.
He continued: “Words of outrage are not enough to express our hatred of this evil done to little children who simply went to school this morning. Expressions of sorrow scarcely touch the depth of families’ grief tonight. . .
“What we have to offer is ourselves. To turn ourselves, our hearts and minds, to those who are suffering in Uvalde . . . following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, and following him in whatever ways are available into the pain and brokenness of our brothers and sisters in Uvalde and at St Philip’s Church. We have received power to love and to resist hatred.”
Bishop Reed urged people to “ignore the cynics, and pray with all your heart”. He continued: “Give yourself over to opportunities to join in the Spirit’s work of binding up and healing. Love with all you’ve got, and never, ever surrender to the darkness.”
The charitable branch of the Episcopal Church, Episcopal Relief and Development, had been in touch to offer assistance, Bishop Reed said, as had the Presiding Bishop, the Most Revd Michael Curry, as well other bishops, including the Bishop of Connecticut, the Rt Revd Ian Douglas, in whose diocese 26 children and teachers were murdered by a gunman in 2012 (News, 21 December 2012).
Bishop Curry led a time of prayer via social media, on Tuesday evening.
Speaking in the White House on Tuesday evening, President Biden said that it was time for politicians to “stand up to the gun lobby”. Since the massacre at Sandy Hook, he said, “there have been over 900 incidents of gunfires reported on school grounds. . . I am sick and tired of it. We have to act.”
Gun laws would not prevent every tragedy, he said, “but we know they work and have [a] positive impact”. When assault weapons had been banned, he said, mass shootings had decreased, and when the ban expired, they tripled.
“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong. What, in God’s name, do you need an assault weapon for except to kill someone? . . . It’s just sick.”
Speaking during his weekly general audience in the Vatican, on Wednesday morning, Pope Francis said: “I am praying for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families. It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms. Let us all commit ourselves so that such tragedies can never happen again.”