A general view of a wreath laid by mourners outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria on Sept. 11, 2025, following the fatal shooting of U.S. youth activist and influencer Charlie Kirk while speaking during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. / Credit: PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images Vatican City, Sep 11, 2025 / 12:11 pm (CNA). In response to the Sept. 10 fatal shooting of Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Vatican’s secretary of state condemned the use of violence against those with whom one disagrees.“The Vatican stand is that we are against all types of violence. And we think that we have to be very, very tolerant, very respectful of everybody, even though we don’t share the same view,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin told journalists at the sidelines of a conference at the Vatican on Sept. 11.“If we are not tolerant and respectful, and we are violent, this will produce a really big problem inside the international community and the national community,” he added.Parolin’s comments were made one day after the 31-year-old Kirk was shot dead during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University on the afternoon of Sept. 10.Kirk, who often debated students on campus, strongly defended free speech at colleges and was an outspoken critic of discrimination against Christians and of gender ideology. He founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to promote free speech and conservative values on college campuses.
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