Minnesota bishop slams Democratic mayor for dismissing prayer following Catholic school massacre: ‘Completely asinine’

Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron sharply criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for dismissing calls for prayer following Wednesday’s deadly Catholic school shooting, calling the mayor’s remarks “completely asinine.”

“Catholics don’t think that prayer magically protects them from all suffering. After all, Jesus prayed fervently from the cross on which he was dying,” Barron told Fox News Digital.

The shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis killed two children and injured 18 other people during a morning Mass, according to police. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau is investigating the attack as both a possible act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.

Investigators said the gunman left anti-religious writings in his manifesto and scrawled similar messages on his firearms.

At a press conference after the tragedy, Frey criticized those calling for prayer.

“Don’t say this is about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now — these kids were literally praying,” he said. “It was the first week of school – they were in a church.”

His remarks echoed those of some Democratic officials and liberal media figures who disparaged faith-based responses to the tragedy.

Barron, an influential Catholic leader who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, argued that critics misunderstand the role of prayer.

“Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, which strikes me as altogether appropriate precisely at times of great pain,” he said. “And prayer by no means stands in contrast to decisive moral action. Martin Luther King was a man of deep prayer, who also effected a social revolution in our country. This is not an either/or proposition.”

Barron also said the massacre should be recognized for what it was: a deliberate act of anti-Catholic violence.

“In the past seven years in our country, there has been a 700% increase in violent acts against Christians and Christian churches. Worldwide, Christianity is by far the most persecuted religion. That people are even wondering whether the tragedy in Minneapolis is an instance of anti-Catholic violence is puzzling to me,” he told Fox News Digital.

“If someone attacked a synagogue while congregants were praying, would anyone doubt that it was an antisemitic act? If someone shot up a mosque while the devout were praying, would anyone doubt that it was an anti-Islamic attack? So, why would we even hesitate to say that a maniac shooting into a Catholic Church while children are at prayer was committing an anti-Catholic act?” he asked.

The conservative Family Research Council has also documented a rise in hostility toward churches. A report released this month found at least 415 attacks against 383 churches in 43 states in 2024.

Barron said he would not hesitate to call the two children slain during Mass “martyrs,” describing their deaths as a tragic but powerful witness of faith.

He acknowledged the tragedy raises deep questions about evil, but pointed to the gospel’s message of hope even in suffering.

“We know that God is all-good and all-powerful, and yet we also know that there are wicked people in the world who do terrible things. And so we must say that the just and merciful God permits some evils so as to bring about a good that we might not be able immediately to see. God is faithful in his love, but the ways of his providence are often inscrutable to us. We also know that, in Jesus, God journeyed all the way to the bottom of our suffering, accepting, as St. Paul said, ‘even death, death on a cross.’ We cannot always understand why God permits evil, but we know for sure that he accompanies us in our suffering,” he said.

Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, also defended prayer in a post on X directed at MSNBC host Jen Psaki.

“We pray because our hearts are broken. We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways, and can inspire us to further action,” Vance wrote. “Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”

A spokesperson for Frey’s office defended his comments in a statement to Fox News Digital: “The mayor has always said that thoughts and prayers alone are not enough. They must be paired with action and solutions. One doesn’t negate the other — but year after year, students are murdered by gun violence. Enough is enough. We must do more.”