Thursday, January 24, 2013

Vatican praises Obama’s new gun control measures

Chief spokesman for the Vatican Reverend Federico Lombardi Chief spokesman for the Vatican Reverend Federico Lombardi has spoken out strongly in favor of President Obama’s rallying for new gun legislation in the US that would reinstate the assault weapons ban and mandate background checks for the purchase of guns.

The Associated Press reports that the Vatican, through chief spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that 47 religious leaders have appealed to US Congress to "to limit firearms that are making society pay an unacceptable price in terms of massacres and senseless deaths.” 

"The initiatives announced by the American administration for limiting and controlling the spread and use of weapons are certainly a step in the right direction," Lombardi said. 

The Reverend went on to say that America possesses "about 300 million firearms," and that "people cannot fool themselves that it is enough to limit the number and use (of guns) to impede in the future horrendous massacres like that of Newtown that shook the conscience of America and world, as well as that of children and adults." 

"But it would be worse to be satisfied with words" of condemnation alone, Lombardi said. 

And while massacres are "carried out by unbalanced or hate-driven persons, there is no doubt that they are carried out with firearms," said Lombardi. 

Lombardi went on to emphasize the renewed Vatican appeals for disarmament and encouragement for measures to fight "the production, commerce and contraband of all types of arms," an industry fueled by "enormous economic and power interests."