We stand with NETWORK Advocates for Justice.
Catholic Sisters have long embraced nonviolence. While we pray, we serve as instruments of peace remaining steadfast in our advocacy with our partners at NETWORK and Nuns Against Gun Violence.
Full statement from Laurie Carafone, NETWORK Executive Director (Sept. 11, 2025):
Catholic Lobby Decries All Gun Violence as Part of Sisters’ Commitment to Nonviolence
WASHINGTON—NETWORK decries all gun violence, including yesterday’s shooting death of Charlie Kirk and the events at Evergreen High School in Denver, said the Executive Director of the Catholic lobby founded by Catholic Sisters.
Full statement from Laurie Carafone, NETWORK Executive Director:
“Catholic Sisters have long embraced nonviolence, and yesterday’s reprehensible shooting of Charlie Kirk continues the tragic sin of gun deaths in the United States. NETWORK condemns the murder of Charlie Kirk, and all acts of political violence, as cowardly and un-American. Gun violence affects everyone: if any of us are unsafe, then we are all unsafe. The rates of gun violence in the U.S. are staggering and morally unacceptable. Earlier this year, in another act of horrendous political violence, Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were shot to death. These murders echo past shootings from Martin Luther King Jr. to George Wallace. School shootings including Columbine, Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Annunciation, and yesterday’s heartbreaking violence at Evergreen High School in Denver have become so frequent as to numb our national capacity to respond – both with grief and action. Through all of it, Catholic Sisters, along with countless other people of faith and goodwill, have been stalwart advocates for nonviolence. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice continues to support meaningful gun control in this country. Our prayers are with Mr. Kirk’s family and the Evergreen High School community.”
Founded by Catholic Sisters in 1971, NETWORK is an inclusive, national, Catholic advocacy organization open to all who share our values, working for justice and equity for everyone. For 53 years, NETWORK has educated, organized, and lobbied for federal policies that serve the common good and honor the dignity of all people.