Move beyond prayers to action
To the Editor:
Our attention is again drawn to the tragedy of a school shooting, this time at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. The response has been predictable. Flags were lowered to half-staff, a shrine of flowers and stuffed animals sprang up, and religious and political leaders issued their usual vapid statements about thoughts and prayers. It will remain in the news a few more days and then our attention will focus elsewhere, until the next school shooting.
Our focus should not be so local. In his Angelus message Aug. 31, Pope Leo prayed for the victims in Minnesota but said his prayers “include the countless children killed and injured every day around the world.”
According to Gun Violence in the United States, a study issued by Johns Hopkins University, in the United States in 2022 seven children between ages 1-17 were killed daily by gun violence. It is likely that a large share of those deaths did not take place in white, suburban America. It is also likely that those deaths were not observed with lowered flags, makeshift shrines or the attention of political or religious leaders. The only ones observing those deaths were the families who grieved alone.
More must be done! In his Angelus message the pope continued, “Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.” Jesus tells us to be responsible for the care of each other, but especially the little children. Can we move beyond thoughts and prayers to actions that will respect the lives of those children?
The pope concluded this part of his message, “May our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.’” (Is 2:4). May that be more than our prayer, may it be our work, especially for the children.
Rev. George W. McDaniel
Davenport
