On June 17, a gunman shot and killed nine people, including the pastor, during a Bible study class at the historic black church.

Dylann Roof, 21, was later charged with nine counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm.

The charges came hours after he confessed to carrying out the attack.

Investigators say Roof told them he wanted the shootings to spark a race war in the US.

On June 18, Charleston Catholic Bishop Robert Guglielmone said the inside of a church is a sanctuary.

"When a person enters, he or she has the right to worship, pray and learn in a safe and secure environment," Bishop Guglielmone said.

"For anyone to murder nine individuals is upsetting, but to kill them inside of a church during a Bible study class is devastating to any faith community."

Bishop Guglielmone offered his deepest sympathies on behalf of all Catholics in South Carolina to the families of the victims and the church members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

"I pray that everyone affected by this horror will feel the comforting presence of our Lord surrounding them during this difficult time."

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh tweeted: "We pray for those killed in the violent church shooting in Charleston. We also pray for their families and all those who mourn their death."

New York pastor Fr Gerald E. Murray said the shootings appeared to have a diabolical inspiration.

Fr Murray told Newsmax: "The church is the house of God and the reverend was preaching the word of God and then he is murdered along with eight other people in his church."

"This is a sign of where the world goes when someone rejects God and gives into diabolical evil," he explained.

"It's horrendous, unthinkable."

When Roof was charged, members of some of the victims' families said they forgave him and urged him to repent.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• CNN
• Newsmax
• Al Jazeera
• Image: ABC News

Atlanta diocese has seen its number of registered parishioners grow from nearly 322,000 in 2002 to one million in 2012. Charleston has expanded by 50 per cent in the last decade, while Charlotte and Little Rock have grown by a third.

"Instead of us closing parishes and closing schools, we're doing the opposite. We're in total growth mode," Deacon Sean Smith, chancellor for the diocese of Knoxville, to the National Catholic Register.

When Knoxville was established in 1988 it had 37 parishes. It has since added 14, the number of parishioners has doubled, and it expects to have 23 men in graduate seminary next year.

Deacon Smith said Catholics in the South, where they are a decided minority, must constantly defend their faith and, as a result, come to cherish it.

In a region where churches sit on seemingly every street corner and billboards belt out Bible verses and calls for repentance, local Catholics say they have found fertile ground for the renewal of the Church.

"Our Protestant brothers and sisters have done us a great favour. Talking about faith here in the South is like eating, breathing, and sleeping," said Randy Hain, co-founder of The Integrated Catholic Life, an online magazine.

"There's an openness about faith here which makes it easier to be open about your faith if you're Catholic."

Lisa Wheeler, founder of a Catholic marketing firm in the Atlanta area, said dialogue with Protestants has produced a steady stream of Catholic converts, who bring enthusiasm and passion for their faith.

Hain said that if Catholics in other areas were as open about their faith as Southerners are, there would be a resurgence in the Church.

"Let's worry less about offending others," he said. "Let's worry more about practising our faith."

Source:

National Catholic Register

Image: Diocese of Charlotte