http://www.naturalnews.com/050443_Pope_Francis_gun_control_Vatican.html
Fewer guns in private hands until they are no longer allowed
In practical terms, however, the Vatican has regularly opposed private firearm ownership. In 2011, the National Catholic Reporter noted that though there are few overt statements from the Church regarding private firearms ownership, the reality is that the Vatican is quite clear on that position:
The Catholic Church’s position on gun control is not easy to find; there are dozens of speeches and talks and a few documents that call for much tighter regulation of the global arms trade, but what about private gun ownership?
The answer is resoundingly clear: Firearms in the hands of civilians should be strictly limited and eventually completely eliminated.
That won’t be clear, judging by the dearth of public statements and headlines detailing the Church’s position, which derives a great deal of funding from American Catholics, many of whom are constitutional conservatives. In fact, the NCR noted that the Church’s position is cloaked in a footnote in a document on crime by the U.S. Bishops’ conference while being mentioned in dozens of official Vatican texts on the global trade of arms.
The most direct statement, NCR reports, comes in the bishops’ “Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,” published in November 2000.