"We commend Pope Francis for his verbal support of the poor and marginalized in our society," John M. Snyder, chairman of the international, interdenominational St. Gabriel Possenti Society (www.GunSaint.com), said here today.

"At the same time," added chairman Snyder, "we suggest our Holy Father flesh out his pious words with a concrete practical proposal for the acquisition and use of personal self-defense firearms by the poor and most marginalized people in the world today, the victims of crime, and especially victims of brutal, murderous, throat-cutting militant Islamist terrorists

"This would be in keeping with the example set by St. Gabriel Possenti in 1860, when he used handguns to rescue villagers of Isola del Gran Sasso, Italy from a band of renegades. We need courageous saints of action today like St. Gabriel Possenti."

"Unlike the fighting spirit of St. Gabriel Possenti, particular church officials today seem afflicted with a spirit of pacifism," Snyder stated. "While we don't judge the motivations of Vatican officials, their attitudes just don't cut it. International criminal violence is rampant. Evil persons must be confronted and fought. Christ Our Lord Himself tells us, according to Luke 22:36, 'The man without a sword must sell his cloak and buy one.'"

Snyder said, "It is not sufficient for Vatican officials to pass the buck to states for defense of victims of violence. The individual victims themselves need guns for personal protection. If Vatican officials, including the Pope, really believe in the rights of individuals, including the right of individuals to defend their lives and the lives of their loved ones, let them promote gun rights for innocent victims."

In 1860, St. Gabriel Possenti demonstrated his handgun marksmanship and rescued villagers from a marauding gang of about 20 renegade soldiers.

After rescuing a young woman from would-be rapists by grabbing the rapists' handguns from them, St. Gabriel Possenti confronted onrushing brigands with the handguns. He fired at a lizard, dispatching it with one shot, and took command of the difficult situation, running the now-frightened brigands out of town.

St. Gabriel Possenti performed this feat of courage without causing physical harm to a single human being.

St. Gabriel Possenti died in 1862. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. The Society seeks official Vatican designation of St. Gabriel Possenti as Patron of Handgunners.

Snyder noted that certain individuals dispute the historicity of the shooting and rescue incident. He stated that, "in response to lizard incident challenges, let me point out that the priest who wrote about the incident, from the same religious order as St. Gabriel Possenti, the Passionists, defended his account until his death.

"When challenged re the accuracy of his report of the lizard incident, Rev. Godfrey Poage, C.P. stood by its historicity. He said that challenges to it came from people 'who didn't have the evidence. They didn't see it.' Father Poage said this to Mark Pattison of the Catholic News Service on February 10, 1992. The CNS report appeared in The Catholic Sun of Phoenix, Arizona on February 20, 1992. Pattison reported that, 'Fr. Poage said the episode was witnessed by a 'lay helper' at the monastery. The documentation was uncovered during his research in Italy in 1947-48.'"

Snyder noted further that, "Fr. Poage was the author of 'Son of the Passion, The Story of Gabriel Francis Possenti.' It was published in 1962 by the Bruce Publishing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and republished in 1977 by the Daughters of St. Paul. The book carried the nihil obstat of Frederick Sucher, C.P., S.T.D., Censor for the Congregation of the Passion, the imprimi potest of Walter Kaelin, C.P, Provincial of the Holy Cross Province (of the Passionists), dated February 27, 1962, the nihil obstat of John F. Murphy, S.T.D., Censor librorum, and the imprimatur of Most Reverend William E. Cousins, Archbishop of Milwaukee, dated April 13, 1962.

"The account of the lizard incident, Chapter 7, 'The Savior of Isola,' is one of the book's eight chapters. In the book's introduction, Fr. Poage explained that, 'nothing was said that had not been quoted by eyewitnesses, at least in the third person.'"

Snyder stated that, "The Poage account of the lizard incident remained non-controversial for over a quarter of a century. I began promoting St. Gabriel Possenti as a Patron of Handgunners in the late 1980s. Then and since, the servants of gun owner-hating bigotry have been crawling out from under the rocks in a belated attempt to attack the account of the lizard incident. It seems they are more concerned with being politically correct than historically accurate."

Snyder is the author of a book on St. Gabriel Possenti, Gun Saint, published in 2003 by Telum Associates, LL.C.

Contact: John Snyder, gundean@gmail.com, www.GunSaint.com