El Paso bishop decries lack of compassion as 'the great sickness of our time'

Mourners take part in a vigil near the border fence between Mexico and the U.S. after a mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, Aug. 3, 2019.  (CNS photo/Carlos Sanchez, Reuters) 

Aug. 4, 2019
Catholic San Francisco 

Saying his "heart was breaking," El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark J. Seitz planned an interfaith prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Sunday for the victims of Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart store.

"As a minister I am called to be present to those who suffered this attack and to their families. I need to do so with a sense of composure," Bishop Seitz said in a statement posted on the diocesan website.

"But as I visited with victims and those they love my heart was breaking within me," he said. "Their questions are mine as well. Why the innocent children? Why the mothers with babes in their arms? Why should any human being ever be subjected to such violence?

"Once again in our nation," the bishop added, "we see the face of evil. We see the effects of a mind possessed by hatred. We see the effects of the sinful and insipid conviction that some of us are better than others of us because of race, religion, language or nationality. “He waited for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry! (Isaiah.5:7).

"In the last several months," Bishop Seitz said, "the borderlands have shown the world that generosity, compassion and human dignity are more powerful than the forces of division. The great sickness of our time is that we have forgotten how to be compassionate, generous and humane. Everything is competition. Everything is greed. Everything is cold. Tenderness and the love that knows no borders are crucified in a whirlwind of deadly self-seeking, fear and vindictiveness."

The bishop said God sent his Son into the world "precisely to confront this diabolic evil."

"It was to enter into the midst of this and to experience its full force that the innocent one, Jesus, experienced his passion and cross," he said. "Just when it appeared that evil had won the day Christ rose victorious!"

El Paso Sheriff Richard Wiles said the shooter, identified as Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, traveled to the border city "to kill Hispanics."

'What happened today is beyond comprehension," he said in a Facebook post. "This Anglo man came here to kill Hispanics. I'm outraged and you should be too. This entire nation should be outraged. In this day and age, with all the serious issues we face, we are still confronted with people who will kill another for the sole reason of the color of their skin.

"I fear things will not get better," Wiles said. "Not pointing out anyone in particular, but I'm sick of people jumping in front of the cameras offering prayers and condolences as things just keep getting worse.

"It's time to rise up and hold our representatives accountable at all levels. I want representatives who will stand up against racism," Wiles said. "Who will stand up and support the diversity of our nation and our state. Who will stand up for a strong criminal justice system that holds criminals responsible and keeps violent individuals locked up and off our streets. Who support robust community mental health services. Who support keeping guns out of the hands of people who are just waiting for an opportunity to kill others."

Pope Francis joined Catholic Church leaders expressing sorrow after the back-to-back mass shootings.

After the prayer called the Angelus in St Peter's Square on Aug. 4, the pope said he wanted to convey his spiritual closeness to the victims, the wounded and the families affected by the attacks. He also included those who died a weekend earlier during a shooting at a festival in Gilroy, California.

"I am spiritually close to the victims of the episodes of violence that these days have bloodied Texas, California and Ohio, in the United States, affecting defenseless people," he said.

On Aug. 4, after the second shooting become public, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairman of the bishops' domestic policy committee offered prayers, condolences and urged action.

"The lives lost this weekend confront us with a terrible truth. We can never again believe that mass shootings are an isolated exception. They are an epidemic against life that we must, in justice, face," said Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, USCCB president, in a statement issued jointly with Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

"God's mercy and wisdom compel us to move toward preventative action. We encourage all Catholics to increased prayer and sacrifice for healing and the end of these shootings. We encourage Catholics to pray and raise their voices for needed changes to our national policy and national culture as well," the statement continued.

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, who heads the Cincinnati Archdiocese, which includes Dayton, said it was "with a heavy heart" Catholics turned to prayer this Sunday. "As tragic and violent shootings continue in our country," in El Paso and now Dayton, "I ask for everyone of faith to join in prayer for the victims and their loved ones.

Eric Spina, president of the University of Dayton, said the Marianist-run school and its community offered "our prayers for the families and loved ones of the victims and the wounded, both for our friends and neighbors here in Dayton and in El Paso, Texas."

In the shooting in El Paso, police arrested 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, of Allen, Texas. Several news organizations said local and federal authorities are investigating whether the shooting was a possible hate crime since the suspected gunman may be linked to a manifesto that speaks of the "Hispanic invasion" of Texas.

Via Twitter, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, tweeted Aug. 4: "More senseless gun killings ... more white nationalism ... more disregard for the sanctity of human life. ... We need to create the beloved community Jesus envisions now."

In a statement Aug. 4, El Paso interfaith leaders said, "Tomorrow we will mourn, dry tears, offer our sacrifice of prayer and brace ourselves for the work ahead. Because even now the borderlands will stick together and the borderlands will stand together."

The statement was released by the Interfaith Alliance of the Southwest and the nonprofit Hope Border Institute of the El Paso Diocese.

The institute, which deals with immigration issues, asked anyone who could do so to donate blood at a center in the city. It also gave local directions and offered help via Twitter for those looking for loved ones who may have been hurt in the shooting but who were afraid to contact authorities because of their immigration status.

"If you are afraid to contact the authorities regarding the shooting because of your immigration status, please contact Hope Border Institute and we will help you," the organization tweeted in English and Spanish Aug. 3.

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas posted a prayer on their website called "Let the shooting end." They called on lawmakers to enact guns laws "to protect all in our society."

Immediately after the news of the El Paso shooting, they tweeted: "Our hearts break for the families of those killed and wounded in today's mass shooting in El Paso. A school, a movie theater, a church, a shopping mall: All places where we should feel safe, all places that have experienced senseless tragedy because of guns."

Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Dewane said in their Aug. 4 statement that the bishops' conference has long advocated for responsible gun laws and increased resources for addressing the root causes of violence and called upon the president and congress to set aside political interests "and find ways to better protect innocent life."
 
Catholic News Service contributed.