Anyway, I enjoyed the moral reasoning in his letter and respect he had the courage to send this to his entire congregation as well as making it public:
Read: Priest's letter to Ann Arbor church about guns
He discusses denial, fear, active shooters, schools and other criminal protection zones, pacifism versus the moral duty to defend the common good (such as defending the innocent).
A couple of excerpts that I liked:
"Mayberry was a fictitious, idyllic rural American city in which the public safety needs were met by a kind-hearted sheriff and a clueless but well-intentioned deputy. The only 'threat' to public safety was a bumbling, genial ne'er-do-well who was so accustomed to staying in jail that he had his own cell, which was never locked. The show, The Andy Griffith Show, was so popular that it had two spin offs, Mayberry RFD and Gomer Pyle, USMC. It was popular because it showed a kind of life that everybody wished were true, no threats, everything is fine, everybody's perfectly safe, etc. There is no crisis that cannot be solved by hugs and Aunt Bea's cooking. .... It is very common for Christians to simply assume that they live in Mayberry, trusting that because they know the Lord Jesus, everything will always be fine and nothing bad can happen to them and their families. Those who have followed the Lord Jesus for more than 20 minutes, however, have often experienced first-hand that the reality of living in a fallen universe can be very different. How to balance faith, reality, prudence, and trust is one of those critical questions that we struggle with all our lives. Pretending we are in Mayberry, while we are clearly not, can have very negative consequences for ourselves and those we love, especially those we have a responsibility to protect."
Several people have said to me, I'm afraid of guns. My response to one woman was, 'well, how do you feel about rape?' While that may seem extreme, when we chose against one option, we do, in a sense, empower the other.
Frankly, I am surprised it was published in the Lewinsky Media. Guess even the Detroit Free Press can show some new surprises.Our families, especially our kids, are the second most precious gift given to us by the Lord Jesus. He Himself being the greatest. How we respond to threat to this gift should be very seriously considered and it is my fervent hope and prayer that all the families in Christ the King will do so.
Your brother in the service of Christ the King,
He also refers to leadership on this issue by the Detroit Police Chief:
As a side note, the Detroit Police Chief, James Craig, spent 28 years in the Los Angeles Police Department, before becoming the police chief in Portland, Maine, then Cincinnati, Ohio, and now Detroit. He has consistently been pro-2A and pro armed citizen. Wish he could get the message across to Austin's Acevedo."...the chief of police of the City of Detroit...publicly encouraged the law-abiding citizens of Detroit to arm themselves for their protection and the protection of their homes. He went so far as to say: 'Good Americans with CPLs (Concealed Pistol Licenses) translates into crime reduction.' "
His leadership on this issue is obviously having an impact and spreading through the community.
