The Church Times reported on a pastoral letter to the US Episcopal (Anglican) Church from its Presiding Bishop, Dr Sean Rowe, in the light of the ICE raids in Minnesota and elsewhere, and the protests and widespread anger that has arisen in response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
“Like Jesus, we live in frightening times”, he says. “In the United States, we no longer live in a time when we can expect to practise our faith without risk, and we are confronting what vulnerable communities of faith have experienced for generations. Our right to worship freely as one Church, committed to the dignity of every human being, has been curtailed by the fear that too many immigrant Christians face when they leave their homes.
“Peaceful protests, a right long enshrined in the Constitution, are now made deadly. Carrying out the simple commands of Jesus — feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, visiting prisoners, making peace — now involves risks for the church and grave danger for those we serve.”
Bishop Rowe said he expected that “our church will continue to be tested in every conceivable way as we insist that death and despair do not have the last word, and as we stand with immigrants and the most vulnerable among us who reside at the heart of God.”
In a similar vein, President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, said that “the current climate of fear and polarisation, which thrives when human dignity is disregarded, does not meet the standard set by Christ in the Gospel”.
Archbishop Coakley has invited his “brother bishops and priests across the United States to offer a Holy Hour for Peace in the days ahead”, and provided a link here to a USCCB webpage, which includes a Litany of Peace.
“Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or loss,” said Archbishop Coakley.
Read the full story here. Read about Archbishop Coakley’s Holy Hour initiative here.