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Showing posts with label Diocese of Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diocese of Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Pittsburgh Auxiliary Bishop Mark Eckman to lead the northern U.S. diocese, with the bishop-elect succeeding Bishop David Zubik in that role.
Leo accepted Zubik’s resignation June 4. The outgoing bishop turned 75 — the usual age of retirement — last September.
A Pittsburgh native, Zubik spent his entire priestly and episcopal career in the diocese, which serves nearly 628,000 Catholics in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
Eckman, 66, was born in Pittsburgh on Feb. 9, 1959. He has been an auxiliary bishop of the diocese since 2022. His priestly formation took place at St. Paul Seminary in East Carnegie, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.
After his ordination on May 11, 1985, Eckman mostly served in different roles in parishes and schools in South Hills, a southern suburb of Pittsburgh.
He was episcopal vicar for clergy personnel from 2013 to 2020 and in 2021 became pastor of Resurrection Parish after acting as administrator during its founding from the merger of two other parishes.
Eckman also served as a member on several boards, including the priest council, the U.S. bishops’ conference National Advisory Board, the permanent diaconate formation board, the seminary admissions board, and the priest candidates admissions board.
The prelate’s episcopal motto is “To serve in faith and charity.” According to his biography on the website of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the bishop likes to spend his spare time visiting extended family. He is also an avid nature photographer who likes to hike and ski.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh covers 3,754 square miles in five Pennsylvania counties. It has a population of around 2 million people.
Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese to put armed guards in schools
The diocese plans to use the officers at K-8 buildings and high schools
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh on Thursday said they would be staffing armed officers in schools amid concerns over safety and security.
The announcement came during a news conference where diocese schools Superintendent Michelle Peduto released a report on its 45 schools. Officers will respond to grade schools through high schools.
Ms. Peduto was joined by Wendell Hissrich, who was hired as a security expert by Bishop David Zubik in August to expand the response to school safety threats.
Mr. Hissrich, the former director of public safety for Pittsburgh whose law enforcement experience includes 25 years with the FBI, said the diocese hired four regional security supervisors, all with law enforcement backgrounds — including former state troopers and county officers — about two weeks ago.
The four supervisors are assigned to the three regions in the diocese and the high schools.
He said conditional offers of employment are expected to go out to six additional officers within a week.
The officers will act as the liaison between school officials and local public safety agencies, Mr. Hissrich said. He said there was “strict criteria” for hiring the officers.
“The experience we were looking for in hiring these officers was that they are able to deal with people, deal with parents, deal with students and de-escalate situations,” Mr. Hissrich said.
Once those officers are onboarded, Mr. Hissrich said he would be looking into adding more.
“The ideal situation is having more and more officers as time goes on so they can spend more time in each school, but we’re just not at that point yet,” Mr. Hissrich said.
Mr. Hissrich said he hopes school officers never have to unholster their firearm, but emphasized the random nature of school shootings.
“We hope that we never have to draw a weapon, at the same time, in this day and age, we don't know when and where it’s going to happen,” Mr. Hissrich said.
The announcement comes after a series of 911 calls falsely reporting active shooters rattled schools across the state last spring, including Oakland and Central Catholic, prompting lockdowns.
Mr. Hissrich said the decision to employ officers was not made in direct response to the “swatting” incidents, although he called school shootings “the hot button issue” and said he felt it necessary that the officers be armed.
“We need to give the officers the tools to respond to any type of threat,” he said. “We’re also giving them tools like medical supplies as well.”
Mr. Hissrich said he has not received any pushback on the decision from parents.
“The feedback I’ve received so far is ‘When is this going to happen,’” he said.
Alongside the new security plan, Ms. Peduto also released a report on demographics, testing and governance at diocese schools.
Currently, there are 9,424 and 3,520 students enrolled at diocese K-8 schools and high schools respectively, with student teacher ratio’s of 10:1 at high schools and 14:1 at middle schools and elementary schools, according to the report.
The report also touted Iowa Assessment test scores that exceeded national standards in all subjects among students in grades 3-8 at diocese schools in 2023.
“Our teachers, staff and administrators worked and prayed alongside parents to keep our students on task and learning through some very challenging years,” Ms. Peduto said in the report. “This shows not only in their test scores and 100% graduation rate, but in their love for Jesus and their commitment to serving their community in the world.”
The Diocese of Pittsburgh is set to implement a new policy that will require priests to seek the bishop’s permission if they wish to celebrate the ordinary form of the Mass ad orientem.
The policy, discussed during a Thursday meeting between Pittsburgh’s Bishop David Zubik and the diocesan presbyteral council, is expected to be implemented in the coming weeks. It will make Pittsburgh the latest U.S. diocese to regulate the ad orientem celebration of the Mass.
The celebration of the Mass ad orientem is not regulated by Traditionis custodes, a 2021 policy promulgated by Pope Francis to govern a different liturgical reality, the Extraordinary Form of the Mass — sometimes called the “Traditional Latin Mass.”
But several U.S. dioceses have implemented norms on ad orientem liturgies in the years since Traditionis custodes was published, prompting pushback from Catholics who argue that the ad orientem posture is a meaningful part of the Church’s liturgical heritage.
Still, while the regulation of the ad orientem posture has often been framed as part of an ideological “liturgy war” in the Church, some pastoral leaders say that approach obscures elements of a nuanced conversation.
Some bishops have argued against the ad orientem liturgy for theological reasons, or suggested that regulating it is in continuity with the pope's liturgical changes.
But others - even some who are supportive of the practice - have argued that while the ad orientem posture has a place in the Church, implementing the practice badly can cause confusion and disruption in local parishes.
In Pittsburgh, Bishop Zubik is set to implement an ad orientem policy while interest in the practice is growing in his diocese, largely in response to concerns about the implementation of the ad orientem posture in some parishes.
A draft letter on the subject obtained by The Pillar - which was circulated among Pittsburgh priests - announces a policy that sets the versus populum liturgical posture as the norm for public celebration of Masses, while allowing priests to seek permission for the ad orientem posture in parishes and other public contexts.
“Over the past several years there has been a movement within the priesthood, as well as in some members of the Christian Faithful at large, to see the more ancient practice of worshiping ad orientem restored more widely,” Zubik noted in the draft text.
“I have no doubt that the intentions underlying this movement are good,” Zubik wrote, “however, we need to be vigilant in guarding against the mistakes made in the past when implementing liturgical developments.”
In the draft letter, Zubik argued that a shift in some parishes to ad orientem has resulted in “confusion and consternation,” especially when “imposed by the priest with little or no preparation or catechesis.”
“While this movement is genuinely motivated by deeply rooted love for the tradition of the Church and her liturgy, we must be wary of repeating the mistakes of the past. As priests, we must guard against the constant temptation to impose our own personal preferences upon the liturgy,” the bishop wrote.
Priests of the Pittsburgh diocese have told The Pillar they expect Zubik will grant permission readily for the ad orientem celebration of the Mass — if priests have given their parishes adaquete preparation and explanation for the change.
Sources familiar with the meeting Thursday told The Pillar that Zubik has stressed to his priests that he is not hostile to celebrating Mass ad orientem, and that he appreciate that priests offering Mass ad orientem have the good intention of reverently celebrating the liturgy.
“The bishop really was very fraternal about it,” one meeting attendee said. “He was clear that this wasn’t about bad people doing something bad, but the need to do things in the best way.”
“He said his office is getting a lot of calls by some people confused or unsettled by [priests] saying Mass ad orientem, and all he wants to see is the kind of catechesis that makes sure everyone is on board and everyone has the option of versus populum in their parish,” a source said.
“He was clear this ‘permission’ policy isn’t a way to say ‘no’ to everyone, but to get everyone on the same page.”
The policy is expected to require priests to request permission for the ad orientem posture through regional vicars in the diocese, who will discuss the matter with Zubik and chancery officials before permission can be granted.
Requests to celebrate Mass ad orientem “should include a period of instruction, formation, and catechesis of the faithful so that they will genuinely be able understand the Church’s tradition and theology underlying the orientation of the priest during Mass,” according to Zubik’s letter.
Requests should also ensure that “the Christian Faithful are to always have the option of attending Mass celebrated versus populum,” which should always make up the majority of parish liturgies, the draft letter explained.
Zubik’s move will follow a similar policy announced in December by Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati.
In a Dec. 21 decree, Schnurr required that in any church or parish “where pastoral practice indicates that the priest celebrant adopt an ad orientem posture on occasion,” there must be at least one celebration of the Mass versus populum on every Sunday and holy days of obligation, and every “family” cluster of parishes must offer a versus populum Mass on every day that Mass is otherwise publicly celebrated.
Cincinnati priests and archdiocesan officials told The Pillar that the policy had been issued for many of the same reasons cited by Zubik in his letter.
Schnurr’s policy, Cincinnati sources told The Pillar, came in response to complaints from a small number of parishes where priests had made ad orientem celebration the norm without sufficient consultation or catechesis among the parish community — according to the people who complained, at least.
Unlike the Pittsburgh policy, Schnurr did not require his priests to seek prior permission to celebrate Mass ad orientem, though the Archdioceses of Chicago and Seattle, and the Dioceses of Boise and Venice have all already brought in more restrictive permission-based policies in line with Zubik’s.
Those policies have raised a number of questions about the scope and intent of the reforms of Vatican Council II, as well the limits of bishops’ authority to regulate otherwise approved forms of the liturgy.
The ad orientem liturgical posture is the practice by which a priest offers the Mass facing eastward, or symbolically eastward, by facing toward the altar, with the people behind him facing the same way, rather than standing across the altar from the people, and facing them directly.
The custom has ancient historical roots, and for most of Christian history was the normative position in which the prayers of the Mass were offered, in most churches in most parts of the world.
But several decades before the Second Vatican Council, some liturgical theologians had begun to call for Mass to be celebrated versus populum - toward the people - in the belief that that might foster more active and engaged lay participation in the Mass. The issue became the subject of debate among theologians and historians.
Vatican II itself didn’t explicitly mention the debate about liturgical postures. But a 1964 Vatican instruction on liturgy did say directly that celebrating Mass versus populum was permitted. The practice took off very quickly in many parts of the world, so that for several decades, ad orientem worship was almost entirely unseen in most parts of the Church — until the 1990s, when some theologians and priests began to suggest its more regular use.
Since then, some bishops have accepted or even encouraged the celebration of Mass ad orientem among their priests, supported by the former Vatican liturgy official Cardinal Robert Sarah, who was replaced by Cardinal Arthur Roche in 2021.
But opponents of the practice have argued that ad orientem worship runs contrary to the liturgical unity called for by Pope Francis, most recently in Traditiones custodes, and is suggestive of a “clericalist” approach to the liturgy.
Even in dioceses where the ad orientem posture has widespread support, observers have generally noted that introducing the praxis requires preparation and catechesis — that many Catholics are unfamiliar with the notion of ad orientem worship, are not familiar with the theological reasons for which it might be preferred, and that some perceive the stereotype that the priest “has his back” to the congregation.
Zubik has cited those concerns in discussions about the ad orientem posture in Pittsburgh.
In 2000, the Vatican’s liturgical department clarified that no universal norm prohibits ad orientem celebration, noting that “both positions are in accord with liturgical law; both are to be considered correct.”
“As both positions enjoy the favor of the law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church,” the Congregation for Divine Worship wrote at the time.
The Vatican department also clarified that a diocesan bishop “is unable to exclude or mandate the use of a legitimate option,” but is “competent to provide further guidance to priests in their choice of the various options of the Roman Rite.”
While this has led many supporters of ad orientem liturgical practice to question the validity of the policies brought in by dioceses like Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Seattle, the 2000 letter from the Vatican’s divine worship department was not an definitive interpretation of canon law, and the department’s opinion could have changed in the interim to reflect a change in papal expectations.
To date, no diocesan policies have been canonically appealed to Rome, so it remains unclear if the Vatican’s thinking on the subject has changed.
Some U.S. dioceses are lifting restrictions on Communion cup
By: Carol Zimmermann
Date: November 29, 2022
WASHINGTON (CNS) — As many restrictions put in place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted, some Catholic dioceses around the country are returning, or already have returned, to offering consecrated wine in the chalice for Communion while others are waiting to do so.
Some dioceses lifted this restriction in June particularly for the feasts of Corpus Christi or Pentecost.
Most recently, the archbishop of New Orleans announced that parishes could once again offer the Communion cup.
Father Nile Gross, director of the New Orleans Archdiocese’s Office of Worship, announced the decision in a Nov. 25 column in the Clarion Herald, the archdiocesan newspaper, by saying: “The long hiatus is finally over!”
He said Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond “formally removed any restrictions on the offering of Communion under both kinds in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Effective immediately, parishes may reintroduce Communion from the Precious Blood from the chalice. Some parishes already may have begun the practice.”
The priest said the decision was made “with due diligence and with the support of local and state health officials. The health of the local community is among his (the archbishop’s) highest priorities.”
He also pointed out: “Not every parish may be ready to resume this practice, which is understandable. Some parishes never offered Communion from the chalice before the pandemic. Some pastors and pastoral councils may feel it is better to wait until after the flu season or some later time when fear and anxiety of the past few years has waned. The decision is a pastoral decision to be weighed by each individual parish.”
He stressed that even in parishes that offer this option, it is a personal decision to receive the Communion cup or not.
But he said Catholics in the archdiocese should “look at this as a precious gift.”
“The opportunity to receive the Blood of Christ at Mass connects us directly to the apostles, who received the chalice directly from Christ himself,” he explained. “It connects us to great saints throughout history who did the same.”
In the nearly three-year absence of the use of the Communion chalice, he reminded local Catholics that the consecrated wine “may not be offered in separate cups (plastic, paper, etc.) to individual communicants. If fear of illness exists, that person should refrain from the chalice.”
He also said intinction, dipping of the Communion host into the chalice, is only allowed for the clergy. “The lay faithful,” he said, “may not dip their hosts into the chalice themselves, as this is considered ‘self-communication,'” which the church prohibits.
Father Gross said the announcement on the return of the Communion cup “marks an important moment in the life of the archdiocese.”
“COVID happened and continues to pose serious health threats,” the priest said. “However, guided by prayer and the guidance of health officials, Archbishop Aymond has decided it is time to strengthen our liturgical life in this important gesture.”
The week before the New Orleans announcement, the bishop of the neighboring Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, made a similar statement.
In a Nov. 12 letter to Catholics in his diocese, Bishop Michael G. Duca said that in order to “make a full return to our normal celebration of the liturgy,” he had told diocesan pastors that he encourages and allows “parishes to restore the practice of distributing Communion under both kinds beginning on the first Sunday of Advent, if the ministers and congregation are prepared to do so.”
The bishop said receiving Communion from the cup was still voluntary and that each parish could join in when they were ready.
He said parishes can move at their own pace “taking into account the time needed to prepare the lay ministers and the current desires and willingness of the people to receive, once again, from the chalice.”
Bishop Duca also took the opportunity to remind Catholics that “while receiving from the chalice is for many a spiritually meaningful experience, it is not necessary to receive the fullness of Christ in holy Communion. As always, receiving from the chalice when offered is an optional choice for the individual communicant. ”
The bishop said there may be challenges with reinstituting this practice but he did not think they would be insurmountable.
He said he hoped that with this final restriction removed, parishes could begin to return to spiritual and liturgical traditions in place before the pandemic.
While some bishops have not yet made a formal announcement lifting the restriction, others did so this summer, particularly for the start of three-year eucharistic revival in the United States.
Bishop David J. Bonnar of Youngstown, Ohio, announced in June that parishes in his diocese could begin offering the faithful consecrated wine on Pentecost, stressing that he made the decision after consulting medical professionals.
He pointed out, as other bishops also did, that the decision to resume this practice “isn’t an order. Parishes will decide whether to serve wine from a chalice at all Sunday Masses and other celebrations.”
A question-and-answer page on the diocesan website stressed that the “act of receiving holy Communion is an act of faith. The person makes this act of faith in the total presence of the Lord whether in receiving holy Communion under one form or under both kinds.”
The headline of an Aug. 15 column in America magazine by Terence Sweeney, adjunct professor of philosophy at Villanova University in Philadelphia and theologian in residence at the Collegium Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, said: “It’s time to bring back receiving Communion from the chalice.”
“Since the beginning of COVID-19, we have been missing that something,” he wrote. “Withholding the chalice was a worthwhile precaution (even if there is little reason to believe drinking from the common cup brings a high risk of contracting COVID-19).”
He said that as previous pandemic restrictions are being lifted, “the time has come to reconsider this sacramental restriction.”
Sweeney said many people have “continued, legitimate concerns about COVID-19 and will make decisions about their own health.”
“Nevertheless, as we open society, we should not leave the chalice off limits,” he continued. “At many parishes, after Mass you can now grab a doughnut from a tray, pick up a Styrofoam cup of coffee and chat with fellow parishioners. But you cannot receive the Precious Blood.”
But not everyone feels this strongly about returning to Communion from the cup.
In the Sept. 6 “Ask an Apostle” section of U.S. Catholic magazine, one question was: “My parish has the chalice back at Mass and it makes me uncomfortable because of COVID-19. I do not think it safe. What can I do about this?”
Teresa Coda, who works in parish faith formation in Pennsylvania, wrote that in response the question writer could simply not receive Communion from the cup or could contact the pastor or parish council if the concern was for the health of all parishioners.
This summer in the Pittsburgh Diocese, there were mixed feelings when Bishop David A. Zubik announced June 24 that the diocese would allow each pastor to determine whether the Communion chalice should be reimplemented during Mass.
An article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review daily newspaper quoted a pastor who said parishioners had not asked for the return of the chalice and another who said parishioners were very happy about its return.
Diocese spokeswoman Jennifer Antkowiak told the newspaper that Bishop Zubik “had been getting a lot of emails and messages from parishioners who really wanted to see (the cup) reinstated” and that after his announcement there had not been any major concerns raised from local Catholic community.
She said most people viewed the decision as a “sign of hope.”
No matter what steps dioceses are taking, the suspension of the Communion chalice and its reinstatement for some has been a period for explaining the significance of Communion in both forms in bishops’ letters and on diocesan websites.
Father Dustin Dought, associate director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship, explained earlier this year to the National Catholic Reporter what the church says about Communion in both species.
He said that since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has emphasized that while the distribution of both host and wine “more fully expresses Christ’s gift of himself at the Last Supper,” the fullness of sacramental grace is present in each form.
“When it comes to the sign, the sign is less full, the expression is less full,” without both forms of Communion, he said. “But when it comes to grace, there’s no deprivation of grace” without the Communion cup.
The Catholic Diocese Of Pittsburgh announced more than 60 parishes will merge into 15 on July 1. These mergers will bring the number of parishes down from 152 to 106.
“This has not been a simple task,” Bishop David Zubik wrote in a letter to parishioners. “Jesus never promised that it would be easy to carry his message of love and mercy to others.”
Bishop Zubik goes on to say that the merger will position the new parishes for “more effective ministry by addressing financial needs” and “sharing resources.”
Fifteen groupings of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will merge on July 1, 2020, to create fifteen new parishes, Bishop David Zubik announced today. Sixty-one parishes are part of the mergers.
“Since 2018, you have journeyed together on a road that is intended to unite you on the mission to bring the Good News of Jesus to your neighbors and to strengthen all of you in faith,” Bishop Zubik said.
In a letter to parishioners Bishop Zubik wrote, “This has not been a simple task. Jesus never promised that it would be easy to carry his message of love and mercy to others. He was clear that sacrifice would be necessary. However, you are positioning your new parish for more effective ministry by addressing financial needs, sharing resources and allowing your clergy to focus on the spiritual work for which they were ordained. With your faith in Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit, I invite you to warmly welcome and serve each other as you become one parish family.”
Each of the mergers was requested by the priest-administrator of the grouping, after extensive consultation with parishioners. Bishop Zubik consulted with and received consent from the diocesan Priest Council and Vicars General before approving each request.
The mergers are part of the ongoing On Mission for The Church Alive! strategic planning initiative, which is designed to help parishes mobilize their resources to prioritize mission over maintenance. Its goal is to help Catholics have a deeper relationship with Jesus and empower them to reach out to others with His love and mercy.
“This is a pivotal time for our diocese as we plan for the future of the Church of Pittsburgh,” Bishop Zubik said. “Southwestern Pennsylvania is radically different than it was 100, 50, 20, even 10 years ago, yet the work of the Church and our call from God to bring His love to everyone continues as strong as ever. As we address the challenges we face in the Church today, the witness of working and growing together reflects the unity of the Body of Christ that is essential to our mission.”
The mergers of July 1, 2020 will bring the number of parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 152 to 106.
Police officers are seen after a gunman killed at least eleven people Oct. 27 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Robert Bowers opened fire that morning during a service at the synagogue, also wounding at least six others, including four police officers, authorities said. (CNS photo/John Altdorfer, Reuters)
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Catholic bishops stand with "our
brothers and sisters of the Jewish community," the president of the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops said Oct. 27 after a horrific shooting
earlier that day in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue, described
as the hub of Jewish life in that city.
During a late afternoon news conference, Wendell Hissrich,
Pittsburgh's public safety director, reported there were 11 fatalities,
all adults. Six others were injured, including four members of law
enforcement.
The shooting occurred during a morning baby-naming ceremony, for
which an estimated crowd of 45 to 100 people had gathered, according to
news reports.
"We condemn all acts of violence and hate and yet again, call on our
nation and public officials to confront the plague of gun violence,"
said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.
"Violence as a response to political, racial or religious differences
must be confronted with all possible effort. God asks nothing less of
us," he said. "He begs us back to our common humanity as his sons and
daughters."
The gunman allegedly shouted that "all Jews must die" as he stormed the synagogue and then began shooting.
The suspect was apprehended and later identified as a 46-year-old
Pittsburgh man named Robert Bowers. Police believe he acted alone. News
reports said he was critically injured in a shootout with police before
he was taken into custody. The attack is considered a federal hate
crime, and the FBI is taking the lead in the investigation.
Reuters reported that a post on social media later identified as
coming from Bowers said: "I can't sit by and watch my people get
slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in." It was posted shortly
before the shooting on Gab, a Philadelphia-based social networking
service described as an alternative to Twitter. In a statement, Gab.com
confirmed the poster's profile belonged to Bowers.
In his statement, Cardinal DiNardo, who was ordained as a priest for
the Diocese of Pittsburgh, said: "I commend to our Lord the victims,
including first responders, and the consolation of their families. May
Almighty God be with them and bring them comfort at this tragic time."
Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik denounced the shooting and said the
entire Pittsburgh community is devastated. The relationship between the
Catholic diocese and the synagogue, he said, has been "close over many
years."
In a statement to the media, he said: "May God free us from fear and
hatred, and sow peace in our lives, our communities and in the world.
... My heart and prayers are especially lifted up for our Jewish sisters
and brothers and the law enforcement officers who rushed into harm's
way."
Prayer, loving one's neighbor and working to end bigotry must be the response to the hatred shown by the shooting, he said.
"Anti-Jewish bigotry, and all religious and ethnic bigotry, is a
terrible sin," he said. "As we pray for peace in our communities and
comfort for the grieving, we must put prayer into action by loving our
neighbors and working to make 'Never again!' a reality."
President Donald Trump addressed the shooting as he was leaving for a
rally in the Midwest and again at the rally, which he said had
considered canceling because of the horrific shooting. He said he and
the entire nation were "stunned and shocked by the unleashing of such
terrible violence during a baby-naming ceremony."
He called it "pure evil" and a "wicked act" of anti-Semitism. The
"widespread persecution of Jews ... must be condemned and confronted
anywhere it appears," Trump said. "There must be no tolerance for
religious or racial hatred or prejudice."
Another Pennsylvania bishop, Greensburg Bishop Edward C. Malesic,
said: "Words cannot adequately express my sorrow at this morning's
horrific massacre at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I am
absolutely heartbroken at yet another senseless act of gun violence
perpetrated on holy ground."
He said his prayers and those of the entire diocese go out to those
killed and injured, "including the first responders who risked their
lives trying to save others. We will also pray for the loved ones of
these victims and for all of our brothers and sisters in the Jewish
community."
"People of faith should be able to worship God in peace and security.
Our sacred places should be free of all violence," Bishop Malesic said.
"May we find a way to respect the lives of one another without
resorting to such brutality. We will continue to work for an end to
hatred and bigotry of any kind."
Bishop Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was an auxiliary
bishop in Pittsburgh from 2004 to 2009, weighed in on Twitter: "In the
face of the awful tragedy in a Pittsburgh synagogue ... let us once more
pray that God will take those killed into his merciful arms and grant
them eternal rest. Let there be peace in the world and in our hearts."
