Archbishop Rozanski among Catholic leaders calling for just solutions after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by ICE agents on Jan. 24
Catholic leaders called for peace and prayer the day after a second person was killed by federal agents this month in Minneapolis. The killing of Alex Pretti, 37, on Jan. 24 occurred 17 days after a fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent left 37-year-old Renee Good, of Minneapolis, dead.
In a statement released Jan. 25, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, echoed Pope Leo’s words at the Angelus that morning, calling for peace and respect for all peoples.
“Today, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that ‘the Gospel must be proclaimed and lived in every setting, serving as a leaven of fraternity and peace among all individuals, cultures, religions and peoples,’” Archbishop Coakley said. “It is with this in mind that I prayerfully urge calm, restraint, and respect for human life in Minneapolis, and all those places where peace is threatened. Public authorities especially have a responsibility to safeguard the well-being of people in service to the common good.
“As a nation we must come together in dialogue, turning away from dehumanizing rhetoric and acts which threaten human life. In this spirit, in unity with Pope Leo, it is important to proclaim, ‘Peace is built on respect for people!’”
Pope Leo, during his Angelus address Jan. 25, said, “…let us pray for peace: in Ukraine, in the Middle East, and in every region where, unfortunately, there is fighting going on for interests that are not those of the people. Peace is built on respect for peoples!
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis released a statement on Jan. 25 calling for prayer and a restoration of peace.
“Following Saturday’s tragic shooting in Minneapolis, I ask all people of good will to join me today in prayer for Alex Jeffrey Pretti, for his parents, and for his loved ones,” said Archbishop Hebda. “The loss of another life amidst the tensions that have gripped Minnesota should prompt all of us to ask what we can do to restore the Lord’s peace.
“While we rightly thirst for God’s justice and hunger for his peace, this will not be achieved until we are able to rid our hearts of the hatreds and prejudices that prevent us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God,” he said. “That is as true for our undocumented neighbors as it is for our elected officials and for the men and women who have the unenviable responsibility of enforcing our laws. They all need our humble prayers.”
The 5:30 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis on Jan. 25 was “offered for Alex Pretti, his family, and for the Twin Cities community,” the archbishop wrote.
At the Mass, Archbishop Hebda said in the homily, “My brothers and sisters, I suspect that if you’ve been watching the news or listening to the news, you might think that we’re in a period of great darkness,” the archbishop said in his homily. “I feel that. My heart breaks. And yet we know, brothers and sisters, that it’s precisely into that darkness that Jesus comes to bring hope. That’s what brings us here on (this) cold afternoon. It’s because we know that on our own, we can’t fix this situation, but that it’s only the light of Christ.”
Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis issued a statement on social media Jan. 26. He said, “In these troubling days, we recognize with heavy hearts that the events unfolding in Minneapolis do not reflect the values we hold dear as a Church and as a Nation. As Catholics, we believe that the dignity of human life is not dependent on legal or any other status. The Gospel makes this clear, and this belief is reflected in our nation’s fundamental principle of inalienable rights, conferred to us not by the government, but by God, our Father. Please join me in praying fervently that our leaders will work together to seek just and moral solutions to the challenges confronting us.”
Catholic and other faith leaders have previously called for prayers and peace during the enforcement effort. A multifaith prayer service on Jan. 23 at Temple Israel in Minneapolis included Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney.
— Joe Ruff, The Catholic Spirit (Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis), contributed to this report.
