On Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, a shooter opened fire at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the opening Mass for the first day of school.
Several public figures commented on the tragedy, saying that “thoughts and prayers” are not enough when addressing this situation.
One of these public figures included former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
In a viral X post, Psaki attacked those ensuring the Minnesota Catholic school of their prayers for the shooting victims and all those involved.
Here’s Jen Psaki’s X post below:
Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) August 27, 2025
Jen Psaki’s full post reads,
“Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayer does not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”
Thousands of users responded, blasting Paski for her anti-prayer rhetoric.
The Franciscan University of Steubenville provided a powerful response, explaining that prayer is the “very place we meet Christ, who Himself was unjustly slain.”
The university added that “evil wants us to stop praying and to despair.” They assured Psaki that Christians “will not” stop praying, but “cling to Christ, who has conquered death.”
Here is Franciscan University of Steubenville’s full post below:
Prayer is not an escape from reality. It is the very place we meet Christ, who Himself was unjustly slain.
— Franciscan University (@FranciscanU) August 27, 2025
We will continue to pray, not because we are passive, but because we know only God can bring true justice, healing, and peace. Evil wants us to stop praying and to despair.… https://t.co/QSiSUKUIgG
Franciscan University's full post reads,
“Prayer is not an escape from reality. It is the very place we meet Christ, who Himself was unjustly slain. We will continue to pray, not because we are passive, but because we know only God can bring true justice, healing, and peace. Evil wants us to stop praying and to despair. We will not. We cling to Christ, who has conquered death.
“‘The prayer of a righteous person has great power in its effects.’ - James 5:16”.
Hundreds of users responded to Franciscan University’s post. Here’s what some people said:
“The problem is we are not praying enough,” one person wrote.
“I'm an atheist. Even I can see that prayer often aligns people's actions with their finer thoughts,” another user said. “What's this woman's problem?”
“Thank you,” one user added. “I struggled to put your message into words. You’ve done a beautiful job of explaining the need for prayer.”