Saint Paul, Minn. – On Friday, September 5, 2025, Jason Adkins, Executive Director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, issued the following statement in response to calls from Governor Tim Walz to reconvene a special session of the Legislature to address gun violence in the wake of the Annunciation Church tragedy:
In the wake of the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) welcomes a broader legislative discussion about preventing gun violence. While a special session focused only on gun regulation may address part of the problem, it is insufficient if it ignores other urgent concerns, particularly equitable school safety funding for all students, including those in nonpublic schools.
The Catholic Church in Minnesota has long supported common-sense gun regulations, such as protective orders and expanded background checks. But these latter two laws did not prevent the Annunciation tragedy. Reasonable conversations can and should be had about regulating certain types of weapons and high-capacity magazines, which have little value outside a military context.
Americans have a right to possess firearms, whether for the purpose of hunting or for self-defense. But in a properly functioning society, these rights also come with responsibilities. Public safety demands thoughtful limits on gun ownership that allow communities to live without fear of violence at church, school, or in daily life.
At the same time, limiting the gun violence problem to the questions of guns merely masks the root causes of violence that are exacerbated by other policies. Public officials must enforce existing gun laws to keep dangerous individuals off the streets, while also addressing the deeper causes of violence—mental health struggles, family breakdown, and a growing despair often worsened by harmful ideologies, substance abuse, and the effects of the absence of God in people’s lives.
The Minnesota Legislature needs to look at those broader questions, including a reconsideration of recently enacted legislation that makes our state an incubator for the potential harm flowing from THC usage and from the widely debated treatment of young people experiencing gender dysphoria.
Certainly, not all these matters can be adequately addressed during a short special session where legislators must find common ground for the common good, but they are all factors for which there must be a reckoning.
Ultimately, true gun-violence prevention requires both laws and the courage to confront cultural and spiritual challenges that endanger our communities and children. With Pope Leo XIV, we pray for an end to the “pandemic of arms,” and urge lawmakers to pursue practical, holistic solutions that protect lives and strengthen families. Only then can we begin to repair a broken world marked by sin and suffering and move closer to the day when violence will be no more.”