For Immediate Release

Contact: Sister Virginia Welsh, osf (419)460-3071 cell
Pastoral Leader, St. Martin de Porres Parish

St. Martin de Porres Parish joins in mourning the multiple deaths throughout the city and the nation during the past month. The killing of a seven-month-old child and a 10-year-old girl (only blocks from our parish campus) emphasizes the senseless and erratic displays of hate, revenge, and violence.

We are stunned by the weekend shooting in Buffalo which is being prosecuted as a hate crime, and the violation of the worship service of Christians in California. Running errands, trips to the grocery store, family gatherings, Sunday Worship Services have become dangerous partially because of the easy access to guns. We have witnessed hatred, revenge, and disregard for lives escalate to the murder of innocent adults and children.

We call for a full out effort by the Mayor, the city, the police, the sheriff, and every citizen to work together to stop the violence. St. Martin de Porres is the patron Saint for Social Justice and we stand tall in his shadow to call and work for justice in our city and nation. Let us all come together and stop the violence and work for peace.