As the Pope’s comments about climate change have recently impacted world news, we want to hear what he thinks of an American Congress that continues to block gun reform in a country where 9 church members are shot while praying, 20 kindergartners are shot in their classroom, 12 moviegoers are shot in a theater, and over 32,000 Americans are killed by guns every year.

On Sunday, June 21st, while Pope Francis addressed a crowd in Italy, he put aside his prepared notes and spoke frankly, implying that weapons manufacturers can't call themselves Christian. “If you trust only men you have lost,” he said, “It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit of distrust, doesn’t it?” He also criticized those who invest in weapons industries, saying “duplicity is the currency of today ... they say one thing and do another.”

In the wake of the vicious Charleston shooting that left nine dead, GOP lawmakers voted to protect an NRA-backed law to ban funding for all research on gun violence, citing in their report that they wanted no data collection “for current or future research, including under the title 'gun violence prevention,' that could be used in any manner to result in a future policy, guidelines, or recommendations to limit access to guns, ammunition, or to create a list of gun owners.”

As Pope Francis has been a voice for change around the world, we ask him to help America to find its conscience again by challenging Congress about their lack of a moral compass on this issue. Please sign your name to our open letter to Pope Francis.