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Anti-Gun Priest Suggests He'd Rather Let His Parishioners Die Than Allow Guns in Church
By Pluralist
https://pluralist.com/texas-church-shooting-jeremy-zipple/
Jan 1, 2020
Following a Texas church shooting on Sunday, which was stopped when an armed parishioner shot and killed the gunman, some Christians spoke out against the arming of congregations.
Fr. Jeremy Zipple, associate pastor of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Belize City and former executive editor of America Magazine, reacted on Twitter to the deadly shooting Sunday at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas.
But we'll not permit guns in our church. Some Christians gotta be bold & say no more killing & we trust God enough to take care of the rest.
And some will say that's imprudent and foolish and I'll say, but where are the fools for Christ? And who said the gospel was supposed to be easy?
Zipple dismissed those who claimed the incident showed why parishioners should be permitted to carry guns at church.
Not even the possible deaths of people in or near the church could justify arming his congregation, Zipple seemed to suggest.
"This Fri we'll bury a 16-yr-old girl gunned down across street from our church. 3 yrs ago our pastor was held at gunpoint in churchyard," Zipple tweeted on Monday. "But we'll not permit guns in our church. Some Christians gotta be bold & say no more killing & we trust God enough to take care of the rest."
In another tweet, Zipple anticipated objections from people who would accuse him of being "imprudent and foolish." And he had an answer for his critics: "I'll say, but where are the fools for Christ? And who said the gospel was supposed to be easy?"
Zipple also revealed the church had buried "eight parishioners under the age of 30 this year who were all victims of gun violence."
"Guns in every church! Jesus must be so proud of modern-day America," Zipple said on Tuesday in a tongue-in-cheek reply to an NRA tweet praising the "good guy with a gun" who had stopped the White Settlement shooter.
"We've buried eight parishioners under the age of 30 this year who were all victims of gun violence. I do believe the world becomes more Christlike as swords are turned into plowshares, & as a Christian I'll continue to advocate for that. Hope you can understand my position."
In August, Zipple cited an essay from social activist Dorothy Day to criticize pro-gun Christians.
The conclusion of this Dorothy Day essay is powerful--something Christians ought to think about every time they say, "I have a right to a wall/gun/bomb to protect myself."
Either we live in fear or we live in love. But we'll not permit guns in our church. Some Christians gotta be bold & say no more killing & we trust God enough to take care of the rest and give me the courage to stop the evil and save innocents," one user tweeted.
The Texas church shooter was a convicted felon -- it was already Illegal for him to own a gun.
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