FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Paul Snatchko
Text / Cell: (412) 722-2907

I was deeply saddened to learn about the deadly shooting late Saturday night at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO, that took the lives of five people and injured some 25 others.

My Paulist brothers and I are in prayer for those who were killed. May they now be in God’s warm embrace.

We pray also for the families and friends of those killed, for the injured, for the people of Colorado Springs, and for anyone who has been traumatized by this violent act.

Violence targeting our LGBTQ sisters and brothers must stop.

Rhetoric that dehumanizes and disrespects the inherent dignity of those who identify as LGBTQ is unacceptable, including that espoused by members of our own Catholic Church and other faith communities.

The plague of gun violence needs to be more seriously dealt with by our civil leaders.

It is time for our society to address the anger, contempt, and indifference that fuel violence against all people because of their sexual orientation, skin color, race, or religion.

Let’s take this opportunity to prayerfully remember that those with whom we disagree are not our enemies but rather fellow children of God.

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The Paulist Fathers, 415 West 59th St., New York, NY  10019