We were disappointed in Deacon Clark Cochran’s endorsement of gun control and disarmament of Catholic citizens as a means to ending today’s violence as it presents a misunderstanding of Christ’s teaching. Jesus did indeed permit the retaining of a weapon for defense (“Let him who has no sword sell his tunic and buy one” (Luke 22:36). This proposal however is more a distraction from the root of violence: the lack of Christ in our society.
In fact, a disarmed populace ruled by a heavily armed government of fallen men is a recipe for disaster. As Lord Acton famously observed: “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Punishing the good by disarming them would only allow tyranny and violence against the poor to increase. The Cristeros and Vendée martyrs of Mexico and France, as well as the Spanish Reconquista, can all attest to the importance of an armed Catholic citizenry. It is not guaranteed that the freedoms and safety we Catholics enjoy today will continue forever.
Legislative fixes to a spiritual problem are ineffective in ending violence. The only solution to reducing violence is a spiritual renewal: Our Lady of Fatima encouraged the practice of the Five First Saturdays devotion along with a daily rosary for peace. As Pius XI exhorted in “Quas Primas” in 1925, the acknowledgment of Christ the King’s rule is necessary over all peoples and its government – in their hearts and laws. Only through this will peace and harmony reign.
Michael FitzGerald, Chris Hall and Joseph Brakefield are members of St. Ann Parish in Charlotte.