 Millions of people around the world have embraced a recently released encyclical by Pope Francis that focuses a great deal of attention on so-called climate change, capitalism and other forms of political, economic, and environmental policy. Most of what the pope wrote was readily accepted by a great number of people, while others criticized it for its seeming acceptance of environmental science that has yet to actually be settled and economic models that have brought prosperity to a greater portion of the planet than at any time in its history. In recent days, however, the pontiff said something that has roiled a large segment of American society and left many U.S. Catholics wondering whether the Holy See really represents them anymore. As reported by a news site called the Sleuth Journal and Reuters, Pope Francis observed that weapons makers could never call themselves Christians in comments to young people at a large rally in the Italian city of Turin. Are they even Christians? 'If you trust only men you have lost,' he told the crowd in a long, often rambling talk about war, trust and politics, after ditching aside his prepared remarks. 'It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a[ sic ] distrust, doesn't it?' he said to applause. He also criticized those who invest in weapons industries, saying 'duplicity is the currency of today ... they say one thing and do another,' Reuters noted. So, what does the pontiff who is always guarded by a company of armed bodyguards and Vatican City security personnel say about the American right to keep and own firearms, as recognized by the Second Amendment? Not much that is good or positive. A year ago, the pontiff warned that human traffickers, slave traders and weapons makers would have to answer to God on their Judgment Day. He was particularly harsh toward weapons makers and dealers, alleging they are not interested in the word of God because they 'fabricate death, they are merchants of death and make death into a trade.' His new criticism in Turin now suggests that gun dealers, gun makers and, by extension, gun owners, are not even Christian, noted Natasha Noman at PolicyMic . Perhaps Americans should not be surprised given that the Catholic Church embraces the Ten Commandments, one of which is 'Thou shalt not kill.' Fewer guns in private hands until they are no longer allowed In practical terms, however, the Vatican has regularly opposed private firearm ownership. In 2011, the National Catholic Reporter noted that though there are few overt statements from the Church regarding private firearms ownership, the reality is that the Vatican is quite clear on that position: The Catholic Church's position on gun control is not easy to find; there are dozens of speeches and talks and a few documents that call for much tighter regulation of the global arms trade, but what about private gun ownership? The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated. That won't be clear, judging by the dearth of public statements and headlines detailing the Church's position, which derives a great deal of funding from American Catholics, many of whom are constitutional conservatives. In fact, the NCR noted that the Church's position is cloaked in a footnote in a document on crime by the U.S. Bishops' conference while being mentioned in dozens of official Vatican texts on the global trade of arms. The most direct statement, NCR reports, comes in the bishops' 'Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,' published in November 2000. 'As bishops, we support measures that control the sale and use of firearms and make them safer -- especially efforts that prevent their unsupervised use by children or anyone other than the owner -- and we reiterate our call for sensible regulation of handguns,' it says, as reported by NCR. Sources: http://www.thesleuthjournal.com http://www.theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com http://mic.com http://www.wsj.com 