Paragraph 508 on Disarmament merely states "arms," which I take to mean all arms and not some. I also quoted Paragraph 510, which discussed one particular issue.
However, see the following article: http://www.uscatholic.org/news/2011/01/gun-control-church-firmly-quietly-opposes-firearms-civilians
From this article:
The most direct statement comes in the bishops' "Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice" from 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."
That's followed by a footnote that states: "However, we believe that in the long run and with few exceptions -- i.e. police officers, military use -- handguns should be eliminated from our society."
I find it hard to misunderstand the meaning of "handguns should be eliminated from our society." As I said, I oppose my own bishops on this issue, so I'm not picking on RCs. I'm just saying that if your church pushes European Socialism and gun control and then expects a different cultural outcome in America than they got in Europe, they're crazy.
How's that? If that makes me a bad Catholic, I'll stand in line to be excommunicated behind all the ones who vote for abortion and those who support the practice. I doubt I'd live long enough to be kicked out.
But in this matter of religion, in the steadfast position of the Catholic Church that Abortion is Wrong, I support them, and the Right to not be forced by government to pay for murder.
What say you on that topic?
Saw no mention of firearms owned for self-protection from criminals or criminal governments.
And I am not the best educated Catholic, but I have always thought that if it is not in the Catechism, or pronounced by the Pope ex cathedra, it's just some guy in a robe's opinion.