IMAGE: CNS photo/Sergio Flores, Reuters
By
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Calling the mass shooting in a Texas Baptist
church Nov. 5 an “act of senseless violence,” Pope Francis asked the
local Catholic archbishop to convey his condolences to the families of the
victims and to the injured.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, also
sent assurances of the pope’s prayers in a message to Archbishop Gustavo
Garcia-Siller of San Antonio. The Vatican released the text of the message Nov.
7.
The shooting during Sunday services at the First Baptist
Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, left at least 26 people dead and at least
20 others injured.
“Deeply grieved by news of the loss of life and grave
injuries caused by the act of senseless violence perpetrated at the First
Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs,” Cardinal Parolin wrote, “the
Holy Father asks you kindly to convey his heartfelt condolences to the families
of the victims and the wounded, to the members of the congregation, and to the
entire local community.”
Pope Francis also prayed that the Lord would “console
all who mourn” and “grant them the spiritual strength that triumphs
over violence and hatred by the power of forgiveness, hope and reconciling
love.”
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