
A girl in Atlanta holds a flower March 21, 2021, during a vigil at a makeshift memorial outside the Gold Spa following the deadly shootings March 16 at three day spas in metro Atlanta. (CNS photo/Shannon Stapleton, Reuters)
~ by Carol Zimmerman, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) – In the days following the attack that left six Asian American women dead, protests and vigils took place around the country. Women religious and Catholic bishops spoke out against the violence and renewed their call to end racism.
Two Jesuit universities, St. Louis University and Georgetown University held vigils online that included discussion on challenges faced by the Asian America/Pacific Islander community and better ways to advocate for them. Cabrini University issued a statement calling for unity and respect for all.
Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich specifically addressed “brothers and sisters in the Asian American community” telling them that they should know the entire church stands with them “in this moment of grief and horror.”
“We pray for all who suffer racist violence and hate speech,” Cardinal Cupich said. “There can be no place for either in our society and it is incumbent upon all of us to resist language, culture and acts that denigrate Asian Americans and all people of color – because they have deadly consequences.”
The General Council of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan, also called for an end to the violence against Asian Americans and people from the Pacific Islands and urged Congress to enact strong legislation against hate crimes.
Days after the Atlanta shootings, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. He said the measure would expedite the federal government’s response to hate crimes that have risen during the pandemic.
While the Adrian Dominicans stressed the need for strong hate-crime legislation, they also said they were praying “for a profound conversion of heart among us all that we may root out the racism that continues to cause such injury to our sisters and brothers of color and to erode the moral fabric of our nation.” To learn more click here