Pope Leo XIV denounces 'pandemic of arms' as he prays for victims of Minnesota school shooting

Vatican Pope Pope Leo XIV reads his message during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday denounced the “pandemic of arms, large and small,” as he prayed publicly for the victims of the shooting during a Catholic school Mass in the United States.

History’s first U.S. pope spoke in English as he appealed for an end to the “logic of weapons” and for a culture of fraternity to prevail, during his Sunday noon blessing from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

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