'Senseless violence'

Pope 'deeply saddened' by Connecticut shooting

People visit a memorial outside St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 16, after 26 people were killed in a shooting massacre. Eight of the children were to be buried from St. Rose of Lima. CNS photo / Lucas Jackson, Reuters.

Here is a Catholic News Agency story about Pope Benedict XVI expressing sorrow over the Sandy Hook school shooting that massacred 20 children and offered prayers for the victims' families.|

“I was deeply saddened by Friday's senseless violence in Newtown, Connnecticut,” said Pope Benedict XVI Dec. 16. “I assure the families of the victims, especially those who lost a child, of my closeness in prayer,” he told thousands gathered at St. Peter's Square for the Angelus prayer.

“May the God of consolation touch their hearts and their ease pain,” he said, adding that he “invoked God's blessings upon those affected by this tragedy.”

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.