As unrest continues in Minneapolis following a Saturday fatal shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a call for “calm, restraint, and respect for human life.”
“Peace is built on respect for people,” Archbishop Coakley said in his Sunday statement. “Today, Pope Leo reminds us that ‘the Gospel must be proclaimed and lived in every setting, serving as a leaven of fraternity and peace among all individuals, cultures, religions and peoples.’”
In urging reconciliation and dialogue, the archbishop added: “Public authorities especially have a responsibility to safeguard the well-being of people in service to the common good.”
The statement arrives against a backdrop of heightened public debate and protests tied to federal enforcement operations in the Twin Cities. A second fatal shooting on Saturday of a Minneapolis protester by an ICE agent has raised tensions across the region.
>> Protests erupt in Minneapolis after Border Patrol agent fatally shoots civilian <<
Local Catholic leaders have been active in responding to the situation. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis issued a statement in early January urging the community to “lower the temperature of rhetoric” and “start seeing all people as created in the image and likeness of God,” whether immigrant neighbors, elected officials, or those tasked with enforcing the law. “It is only by working together – with God’s help – that we will have peace in our communities, state and world,” he wrote.
Minnesota has seen large demonstrations and actions, such as a Jan. 23 statewide general strike.
Archbishop Coakley closed his statement by underscoring that, “As a nation we must come together in dialogue, turning away from dehumanizing rhetoric and acts which threaten human life.”
“In this spirit,” he concluded, “in unity with Pope Leo, it is important to proclaim, ‘Peace is built on respect for people!’”
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