Pope Leo XIV expressed condolences and prayers for slain conservative leader Charlie Kirk, his wife, and their two children, the Vatican said Tuesday.
"I know that during the conversation with the new U.S. ambassador, the Pope confirmed that he is praying for Charlie Kirk, his wife, and his children; that he expressed concern about political violence; and that he spoke of the need to refrain from rhetoric and instrumentalization that lead to polarization rather than dialogue," Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni told reporters Tuesday at the Vatican.
The Pope met with the new U.S. Ambassador Brian Francis Burch on Saturday, as he presented his credential letters to begin his mandate.
Kirk, 31, an author and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University. His memorial service is scheduled for Sunday in Glendale, Arizona, in an NFL stadium. President Donald Trump predicted a "very big" crowd of supporters will attend.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters last week the Vatican "condemned the murder," emphasizing that the Catholic Church opposes "all types of violence" and urging tolerance and respect even amid disagreement.
"If we are not tolerant and respectful, and we are violent, this will produce a really big problem inside the international community and the national community," Parolin said.
U.S. Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, also paid tribute, calling Kirk an "apostle of civil discourse."
"Friends, let us remember Charlie Kirk — as a kind of apostle of civil discourse, but above all, as a man who loved Jesus Christ," Barron wrote on X.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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