The Roman Catholic

Bishop Michael Sis of San Angelo, Texas, offered these words after hearing about the shootings affecting Odessa and Midland, Texas. “It is with a heart full of sorrow that I write these words after hearing of the deaths and injuries caused by the shootings affecting Odessa and Midland. My prayers are for those who have lost their lives, who have been seriously injured, and for their families. My prayers are also for the great people of those communities directly impacted by this senseless act of violence, especially the courageous first responders and the local medical teams. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, he saves those whose spirit is crushed (Ps 34:18). Our local churches are committed to helping our community to heal from this senseless tragedy. There are no easy answers as to how to end this epidemic of gun violence in our state and our country. I ask the Lord to enlighten all of our hearts and minds, especially our government leaders, so that we can have the insight and the courage to move from a culture of death to a culture of life.”

“The tragic loss of life of 22 people this weekend in El Paso demonstrates that hate-filled rhetoric and ideas can become the motivation for some to commit acts of violence. The anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic sentiments that have been publicly proclaimed in our society in recent years have incited hatred in our communities. Hatred and harsh rhetoric were echoed in the El Paso shooter’s explanation about why he committed this weekend’s shooting, as well as being evident in the motivation of the shooters who attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last year and the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015. We, therefore, renew our call to all to act swiftly to stop using hate-filled language that demeans and divides us and motivates some to such horrific violence. Instead, we ask our leaders and all Americans to work to unite us as a great, diverse, and welcoming people.” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, August 8, 2019)