Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark is New Jersey’s senior Catholic cleric. He’s also an unapologetic Leftist, but his latest pronouncement goes a step beyond anything he’s said to date.
“I honestly believe it is the best thing we can do to change the culture of violence that threatens us today,” Tobin wrote in a May 26th letter titled “Pray for an end to all instances of violence.”
“Let’s voluntarily set aside our rights in order to witness the truth that only peace and never violence, is the way to build a free society that is lived concretely in our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, our nation and our world,” the Cardinal added.
Tobin, who’s also alarmed many Catholics by staking out a Leftist position on transgenderism, may be the first U.S. Catholic leader to call for the “voluntary” abandonment of the Second Amendment or, as Tobin put it, “regulate our behavior in order to protect the vulnerable and ensure the common good.”
“It’s true that we have a Second Amendment right to bear arms, but rights always involve responsibilities – in this case, the responsibility to protect the innocent and to secure public safety and good order,” Tobin continued. “The mass shootings we are witnessing almost weekly now are a serious threat to the lives and well-being of all people.”
New Jersey already boasts some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation which have nevertheless failed to stop violence in many of its larger municipalities including Newark.
The Archdiocese of Newark is New Jersey’s largest diocese and is home to over 1.2 million Catholics.
