WASHINGTON (CNS): “We must support all victims of violence and stand in solidarity with those who are vulnerable in our communities,” said Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta, Georgia, the United States (US), in a March 17 statement a day after shootings in the city left eight people dead, including six Asian American women, protests and vigils took place around the country remembering the victims and calling for an end to a growing wave of anti-Asian racism and violence.
The archbishop also pointed out that many people “endure discrimination, aggression and violence every day of their lives” and said Christians must work to protect the whole community, speaking up against aggression and actively pursuing an end to “racism and discrimination of every kind.”
Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City, Utah, chairperson of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs, echoed the Atlanta archbishop’s call to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable.
In a March 22 statement, he said the Atlanta shootings have “prompted national dialogue on addressing anti-Asian bias that has taken the form of numerous other acts of physical violence, verbal attacks and destruction of property against those of Asian descent over the last year that have left communities across the country traumatised.”
The bishop said he was deeply saddened the mass shooting has “tragically taken the lives of eight people and has renewed concerns about a rise of hostility against individuals of Asian descent.”
‘As bishops, we decry any kind of hatred and violence, particularly based on race, ethnicity or sex. We pray for the families and friends of those who were lost, and for their communities, who may feel unsafe and vulnerable at this time’
Bishop Oscar Solis
He said, “As bishops, we decry any kind of hatred and violence, particularly based on race, ethnicity or sex. We pray for the families and friends of those who were lost, and for their communities, who may feel unsafe and vulnerable at this time.”
Although the suspect has been arrested and charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault he has not yet been charged with a hate crime. Investigators are still looking into if the crimes were racially motivated or if they were committed to end his temptation because he is a sex addict.
However, as Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, told reporters on March 17: “Whatever the motivation was for this guy, we know that the majority of the victims were Asian. We also know that this is an issue that is happening across the country. It is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop.”
The shootings touched a nerve across the country in response to a growing wave of anti-Asian violence, particularly since the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which was first detected in Wuhan, China, last year and had often been disparaged by former president, Donald Trump, as the “China virus” or “kung flu.”
Blase Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, Illinois, specifically addressed “brothers and sisters in the Asian American community” in a March 18 statement, telling them they should know the archdiocese and the entire Church stands with them “in this moment of grief and horror.”
He noted there had been a 150 per cent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the past year, and that while hate crimes in general dropped seven per cent, the situation is intolerable.
“We pray for all who suffer racist violence and hate speech,” Cardinal Cupich said, adding, “There can be no place for either in our society, and it is incumbent on all of us to resist language, culture and acts that denigrate Asian Americans and all people of colour—because they have deadly consequences.”
He said, “We must be ever vigilant against words that inspire acts of hate—this responsibility is even greater for elected officials.”
Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, Michigan, vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted on March 21, “During this time, we have witnessed with growing alarm the increase in reports of verbal and physical assaults against Asians and Asian Americans” since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While violence of any kind is wrong, violence born of racism is a particular evil that must be condemned and eradicated. It has no place in our society,” the archbishop said.
