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Cardinal Cupich, Fr. James Martin ignore Minnesota shooter’s transgenderism - Stone - 08-29-2025
Cardinal Cupich, Fr. James Martin ignore Minnesota shooter’s transgenderism, call for more gun control
The clergymen called for more gun laws after the Minnesota church shooting, but ignored the perpetrator’s gender confusion,
The clergymen called for more gun laws after the Minnesota church shooting, but ignored the perpetrator’s gender confusion,
anti-Christian hatred, and potential demonic possession.
![[Image: GettyImages-624344378.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-624344378.jpg)
Cardinal Blase Cupich
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Cardinal Blase Cupich
Franco Origlia/Getty Images
Aug 28, 2025
(LifeSiteNews [not all hyperlinks from original included]) — Cardinal Blase Cupich and Father James Martin, S.J., have called for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the deadly shooting of schoolchildren in Minnesota, without referencing the shooter’s “transgender” identity and mental illness or the spiritual roots of his attack.
“Robin” Westman, born Robert Westman, on Wednesday morning fired into Annunciation Catholic Church where schoolchildren were gathered, killing two and injuring 17 others, leaving one adult and five children in critical condition as of Thursday morning. Westman killed himself following the shooting.
Videos and writings from Westman show he was consumed by leftist hatred and mentally ill by his own admission. Footage he filmed captures him laughing maniacally as he focuses with his camera on an image of the face of Jesus Christ, crowned with thorns, atop a shooting target on his wall.
The video footage shows him proceeding to pick up an array of gun magazines painted with messages such as “Where is your God?” and “Pain and hate.” One gun reads, “Take this, all of you, and eat,” in a mockery of Christ’s words at the Last Supper said at the consecration during Mass.
In his manifesto, he apologizes to his family and friends but commits to his homicidal and suicidal intention, which he said he had been contemplating for years: “Unfortunately, due to my depression, anger, and twisted mind, I want to fulfill a final act that has been in the back of my head for years,” he wrote.
His mother, who used to work at Annunciation Catholic School according to CBS News, applied for his name change from Robert to “Robin” on his behalf as part of his effort to identify as a female in 2020, when he was still a minor.
A number of observers believe Westman demonstrated demonic influence, if not outright possession. Podcaster Will Spencer has shared a picture from Westman’s journal in which the young man depicted himself facing a demon in the mirror. He wrote as a caption in Russian, “Who?” “When will this end?” “Help me!” and “I don’t want to.”
A former classmate of his, Josefina Sanchez, told ABC5 she had seen red flags in the past. “When you see something erratic, it doesn’t leave your mind … so he would put up his hand and praise Hitler,” Sanchez said.
“I think that’s a spiritual battle,” Sanchez said of the manifesto videos. “I don’t think it’s this world, it’s demonic, I’m sorry, it is. I think we need Jesus. He needed Him.”
Catholic author Daniel O’Connor referred to Westman as “possessed” and lamented that his mother had signed off on his name change. “Cooperating with another’s sin or deception is not love, it is hatred. It hands that person over to his demons,” remarked O’Connor on X.
Instead of raising questions about Westman’s gender dysphoria, a manifestation of mental illness, or about the state of his soul, the heterodox Jesuit priest Fr. Martin and Cdl. Cupich of Chicago responded to the shooting by calling for more restrictive gun control laws.
“Pray for an end to gun violence and for sensible gun control laws,” wrote Fr. Martin, also calling for prayers for the children killed and their family and friends.
The archbishop of Chicago issued a statement following the shooting suggesting the availability of guns should be restricted and that social service programs should be more amply funded by the government, without referring to Westman’s gender dysphoria or spiritual maladies.
“The facts are clear. Guns are plentiful and common sense attempts to limit their availability have been largely rejected in the name of a freedom not found in our constitution,” claimed Cupich in a statement shared to X by liberal Catholic theologian Rich Raho. “Cutbacks in funding for healthcare and for social service programs will only exacerbate a national mental health crisis and increase alienation.”
“Please pray and please act. Now,” Cupich added at the end of his statement.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan was criticized for saying the Minnesota shooting was caused by “gun violence” without mentioning Westman’s transgenderism or anti-Christian sentiments. He wrote on X, “We join in compassionate solidarity with the countless families of the city of Minneapolis, Annunciation Catholic School, and beyond who have been touched by an unthinkable grief caused by mind numbing gun violence which has become all too common.”
A remarkably high number of mass murderers (or aspiring murderers) of late have not identified with their sex. This summer, 18-year-old “Felix” Winter, a girl identifying as male, was sentenced to six years in prison after admitting to two charges related to planning a school shooting in the U.K. In 2023, gender-confused female Audrey “Aidan” Hale murdered six people at a Presbyterian private school in Tennessee.
The Aberdeen shooter Snochia Mosley also identified as “transgender”; the Colorado Springs shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich identified as “non-binary”; the Iowa shooter Dylan Butler identified as “gender fluid”; Denver shooter Alec McKinney identified as “transgender”; and Philadelphia shooter Kimbrady Carriker photographed himself wearing female clothing and jewelry, and with a feminine hairstyle.
The identification with a “gender” other than one’s own sex meets the most basic criterion for mental illness, as a self-perception that defies and contradicts reality – although a cultural shift among leftists have led to the denial that transgenderism is a mental illness.
However, studies and anecdotal evidence still indicate that transgender identification often stems from mental health issues, including trauma. One such study concluded, as a number of detransitioners have attested, that “[T]here is strong evidence that children and adolescents who identify as transgender have experienced significant psychological trauma leading to their gender dysphoria.”