Tag: Catholic Church

The Patron Saint of Marksmen

 Traditional Anti-gun rhetoric in the Philippines has centered on arguments of faith. Specifically, those who argue against individual gun ownership, assert that gun ownership is purportedly not in accord with the Christian faith. In so doing, the anti-gunners seek to label gun owners as anti-Christian or not possessing the values of true Christians.To refute such flawed arguments, we cite the case of St. Gabriel Possenti who is the Catholic Church's patron Saint of all marksmen (quoted from Saint Gabriel Possenti Society at www.gunsaint.com).

In 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy. They began to burn and pillage the town, terrorizing its inhabitants.

Possenti, with his seminary rector's permission, walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young woman he intended to rape when he saw Possenti and made a snickering remark about such a young monk being all alone. Continue Reading

Evangelium Vitae – The Stand of the Catholic Church on Self-Defense

Atty. Nandy Pacheco, self-proclaimed religious man and head of the gun control advocacy group, gunless society, frequently cites the “thou shall not kill” commandment as the basis for his anti-gun agenda arguments. He will have people believe that said commandment is absolute and that the taking of human life, under any circumstance, cannot be justified, specially in the eyes of God. What Nandy Pacheco fails to mention is that the Vatican already clarified this issue through the Evangelium Vitae issued by Pope John Paul II (Latin for "The Gospel of Life", it is the name of the encyclical written by Pope John Paul II which expresses the position of the Catholic Church regarding the value and inviolability of human life. The Pope issued the encyclical on March 25, 1995). Continue Reading