When Jesus was arrested, Peter took action. In a show of force, he drew his sword and cut off the high priest’s slave’s ear. Instead of instructing his other disciples to do the same, Jesus rebuked Peter: “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” (John 18:10-11)
This moment was a lesson in nonviolence before Jesus’ brutal death. As early Christian author Tertullian said, “In disarming Peter, Christ disarms all Christians.”
This, and all of Jesus’ teachings of nonviolence, provide a roadmap for the faithful to behave responsibly in the face of an aggressor and with weapons.
So far this year, the United States has experienced more than 385 mass shootings — defined as four or more people shot during a single incident — and at least 11,598 people have died from gun violence, according to a Sept. 5 ABC News article.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death in the country for children and youth, with two-thirds of those deaths resulting from suicide, making it one of the most relevant pro-life issues today.
For Catholics, looking at the issue of guns and gun violence through a moral lens versus a solely political one can provide a clear vision for a consistent ethic of life.
“I think so many things in our world are polarizing today. I think that people falsely think that we need to divide ourselves into the camps of Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative. I don’t think we do. We’re Catholic first. That’s not to say we can’t be politically active, but I think our political climate has a lot to do with why so many things are polarizing,” said Catherine Phillips, respect life director of the Diocese of Little Rock. “Something that kills is a pro-life issue, whether it’s abortion or euthanasia or often when we talk about gun violence, we’re talking about murder. Sometimes it’s war on a broader scale. But more than that, it is an issue of human dignity. When it’s mental health issues, poverty, issues of community instability, forced migration, we’re talking about times when people are often marginalized and then we talk about people being wounded or killed by guns.”
Church teaching
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, references to violence are listed under the fifth commandment, “You shall not kill,” including the production and sale of arms and self-defense.
In January 2020, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document, “Backgrounder on Gun Violence: A Mercy and Peacebuilding Approach to Gun Violence,” which stated in part, “The Church has been a consistent voice for the promotion of peace at home and around the world, and a strong advocate for the reasonable regulation of firearms.”
The USCCB’s advocacy for gun policy includes:
- A total ban on assault weapons
- Universal background checks and increased regulations and limitations for gun purchases
- Limits on civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunitions
- Supporting a federal law for criminalizing gun trafficking
- Improving access and more resources for mental health care and early interventions
- Steps to make guns safer, including locks preventing children and anyone other than the owner from using a gun without permission or supervision
- Assessing the toll that violent images and experiences on people, specifically youth.
Father Stephen Gadberry, pastor of St. Theresa Church in Little Rock, said the Church’s stance has never been about stripping away guns from responsible owners.
“As with all things that we’ve been entrusted and given stewardship of, we have a responsibility to be educated in its proper use. Whenever we’re not properly educated and prepared to use it for its proper end, people suffer,” he said. “That could be weapons, that could be medicine that’s manipulated. That could be sex that’s used for the wrong reasons. So anything that God has given us and that humans have developed that’s not used to its proper end goes against God’s plan.”
Growing up in Wynne, Father Gadberry first shot a gun around 7 years old.
“From the very beginning, I was told there was a proper time and place to use them, and only with adults around, and only with the proper permissions,” he said.
He served in the U.S. Air Force from 2005 to 2007. For almost a decade, he’s hunted whitetail deer, elk and bear, most often with archery, but he also owns hunting rifles.
“Weapons and firearms are a part of this whole world we live in. In themselves, they’re not morally evil. Their improper use can be evil,” he said.
As a priest, veteran and hunter, he explained common sense gun legislation goes back to promoting better education around proper gun use.
“I am in favor of some more laws when it comes to acquiring guns, not to make it so much more difficult for law-abiding citizens, but to have systems in place to better know who’s getting weapons,” Father Gadberry said.
A pro-life issue
In 2023, there were 46,728 gun-related deaths, the third highest ever recorded in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The statistics include murders, suicides, accidental deaths and law enforcement-related deaths.
The Church promotes a consistent ethic of life, which means protecting life from the womb to the tomb, including speaking out against abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty and gun violence. However, abortion often eclipses other pro-life issues. Phillips explained it is not an “either-or” conversation but a “both-and” for the faithful.
“Murder of a human is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person (catechism, no. 2320). When we’re talking about pro-life, it’s important not merely to be anti-abortion. … If we stop recognizing human dignity in one instance, we’re on the slippery slope,” she said. “Lives lost to gun violence are just as precious as lives lost in the womb.”
Dr. Sherry Simon, founder and past president of the Catholic peace and social justice nonprofit Pax Christi Little Rock, serves as chair of the Pax Christi USA National Council and co-founded the Pax Christi USA gun violence prevention working group about a year and a half ago. They promote local gun violence prevention work and provide education and webinars.
In Arkansas, Pax Christi Little Rock hosted Anna Morshedi, who leads the Little Rock chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Simon said there’s been a plague of false propaganda messaging from gun lobbies.
“Most folks are looking for common sense gun laws, just like we have to have a license to drive a car and have to learn to drive a car. Five percent of the world’s population is in this country, but we own half of the world’s guns.
“As you know, we have the most deaths from guns by many times (the gun homicide rate is 26 times higher than other high-income countries in the world). That correlates,” Simon said, adding, “The more you get to know the nonviolent Jesus, the promotion of no regulations of gun use and the amount of gun violence in our country is not a pro-life consistent ethic of life.”
Simon said Catholics can help change the trajectory of gun violence in the U.S.
“There’s a lot of silence from the pulpit,” she said, adding, “If I were a priest, I wouldn’t want to make a lot of my congregation unhappy. But I do think, number one, the education needs to come not only from the pulpit, but there can be committees in different parishes on gun violence.”
Resources for Catholics
There are many resources for Catholics to look to when it comes to understanding guns, gun violence and our responsibility as a society. Father Stephen Gadberry, Catherine Phillips and Sherry Simon shared notable resources for the faithful to learn more.
- Biblical references: Genesis 1 and 2 about the stewardship of creation; the Psalms
- USCCB’s “Backgrounder on Gun Violence: A Mercy and Peacebuilding Approach to Gun Violence.”
- Pax Christi USA gun violence prevention: paxchristiusa.org/gun-violence-prevention
- Michigan Catholic Conference “Focus” article, “Responding to Gun Safety Reform Objections” micatholic.org/advocacy/news-room/focus/2023/a-catholic-response-to-gun-violence/responding-to-gun-safety-reform-objections/
- Book, “Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence,” by Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin
- Nonprofit, Every Town for Gun Safety, everytown.org
- Pax Christi Little Rock presentation on Moms Demand Action “How to End Gun Violence in America” youtube.com/watch?v=46dsAMNL4es