Not exactly. He's made multiple different statements against gun owners. Here's a direct quote from him:
"We need to dismantle the perverse logic that links personal and national security to the possession of weaponry. This logic serves only to increase the profits of the arms industry, while fostering a climate of distrust and fear between persons and peoples." source
To me, I would interpret that as condemning both weapons manufacturers, and those private individuals who believe in owning weapons for defense of themselves and country. He also does not exclude small arms, either.
Here's another example:
"Do we really want peace? Then let’s ban all weapons so we don’t have to live in fear of war." source
You are correct that the quote in OP's post is not something he said verbatim, but he really does believe in small arms being banned. He's also said people who own shares of a weapons company are basically hypocrites. And I would assume, if he believes ownership of any weapon is the cause of war, that owners of them are not following the ways of Christ.
He is speaking from a theological position which says that, ultimately, security comes from God. “Secular messianism”, or the idea that the proper application of some policy, lifestyle choice, or force is going to produce lasting peace on earth and happiness for all the world, is identified as corrupt thinking in the Catholic Church, and that’s because it is. If Christianity is true, real security and peace can only come from the final victory of Jesus Christ. The Pope, who is daily guarded by armed men and who leads a church which venerates as Saints many who fought in armed conflicts, is not so dumb or hypocritical as to consider all forms of weaponry and ownership Unchristian. He is right, however, to point out that questions of weapons and violence and war do touch Christian morality and that far too few people in the world consider them in that context. As someone who converted to Catholicism as a conservative adult, eyes wide open, I can say for sure that this Pope is “fake newsed” nearly as much as Trump is, and it is surprising to me sometimes how easily those trained in spotting fake media bs are able to be turned against him by reporters and, in some cases, translators.
The problems of the world are created by sin. If it were possible to eradicate sin—greed, lust, abuse, envy, gluttony, covetousness, etc.—by some alternative means besides Jesus Christ, then there’d be no need for Jesus, which would make his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return superfluous, and mean that Christianity were just one means of victory over sin among many. This is definitely not the teaching of Jesus, which would mean that Jesus was wrong about what he said, which would mean he was not only not the Messiah, but also not God. Christianity collapses if there is some other means of defeating, ultimately, sin in the world.
That does not mean that as individuals living in the world that we are to ignore physical realities and “pray for the best.” And the Church doesn’t teach that. While it
does tell us that we should pray to God that His will be done and that we should trust in Him to provide for us, Jesus himself ate food, for example, showing that we are supposed to use our physical faculties—also created by God—to care for our physical needs. With regard to defense, that Church teaches definitively that it is the sacred duty of those who have had others placed in their care (wives, children, etc.) to protect those people from harm, and this includes the use when actually necessary (not in LARP suburban commando scenarios) of deadly physical force against unjust aggressors.
Once again, whatever one thinks they are understanding from the Pope’s messages or tweets, if they take away from them a meaning that is contrary to what I just explained, chances are pretty close to 1:1 that they are misunderstanding what he is trying to say.
Not exactly. He's made multiple different statements against gun owners. Here's a direct quote from him:
To me, I would interpret that as condemning both weapons manufacturers, and those private individuals who believe in owning weapons for defense of themselves and country. He also does not exclude small arms, either.
Here's another example:
You are correct that the quote in OP's post is not something he said verbatim, but he really does believe in small arms being banned. He's also said people who own shares of a weapons company are basically hypocrites. And I would assume, if he believes ownership of any weapon is the cause of war, that owners of them are not following the ways of Christ.
He is speaking from a theological position which says that, ultimately, security comes from God. “Secular messianism”, or the idea that the proper application of some policy, lifestyle choice, or force is going to produce lasting peace on earth and happiness for all the world, is identified as corrupt thinking in the Catholic Church, and that’s because it is. If Christianity is true, real security and peace can only come from the final victory of Jesus Christ. The Pope, who is daily guarded by armed men and who leads a church which venerates as Saints many who fought in armed conflicts, is not so dumb or hypocritical as to consider all forms of weaponry and ownership Unchristian. He is right, however, to point out that questions of weapons and violence and war do touch Christian morality and that far too few people in the world consider them in that context. As someone who converted to Catholicism as a conservative adult, eyes wide open, I can say for sure that this Pope is “fake newsed” nearly as much as Trump is, and it is surprising to me sometimes how easily those trained in spotting fake media bs are able to be turned against him by reporters and, in some cases, translators.
So why have weapons at all? If a nazi comes and tries to steal your Jewish wife, let them, and just pray. No weapons needed.
His tweets don't reflect that.
The problems of the world are created by sin. If it were possible to eradicate sin—greed, lust, abuse, envy, gluttony, covetousness, etc.—by some alternative means besides Jesus Christ, then there’d be no need for Jesus, which would make his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return superfluous, and mean that Christianity were just one means of victory over sin among many. This is definitely not the teaching of Jesus, which would mean that Jesus was wrong about what he said, which would mean he was not only not the Messiah, but also not God. Christianity collapses if there is some other means of defeating, ultimately, sin in the world.
That does not mean that as individuals living in the world that we are to ignore physical realities and “pray for the best.” And the Church doesn’t teach that. While it does tell us that we should pray to God that His will be done and that we should trust in Him to provide for us, Jesus himself ate food, for example, showing that we are supposed to use our physical faculties—also created by God—to care for our physical needs. With regard to defense, that Church teaches definitively that it is the sacred duty of those who have had others placed in their care (wives, children, etc.) to protect those people from harm, and this includes the use when actually necessary (not in LARP suburban commando scenarios) of deadly physical force against unjust aggressors.
Once again, whatever one thinks they are understanding from the Pope’s messages or tweets, if they take away from them a meaning that is contrary to what I just explained, chances are pretty close to 1:1 that they are misunderstanding what he is trying to say.