Leaders call for prayer in response to deadly DC shooting
Washington D.C., 17 September 2013: U.S. leaders are offering prayers for the nation
following a shooting at the Navy Yard in southeast Washington, D.C., that left 13
dead and about a dozen more injured.
“I join people of all faiths across our
community in praying for the people killed and wounded in the attack,” said Cardinal
Donald W. Wuerl, adding that he is also praying for first responders and for family
and friends of the victims.
“While many facts are still unknown, our most
powerful tool right now is prayer,” the Washington cardinal said in a Sept. 16 statement.
“The Church always calls us to prayer, particularly in moments of crisis. It is what
we do best because it is what the Lord asks us to do.”
On Monday morning, numerous
shots were fired at the D.C. facility, which contains the headquarters of the Naval
Sea Systems Command. Washington D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier confirmed that at least
13 people were killed in the shooting, including one shooting suspect, identified
by the FBI as 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a military contractor from Texas. Authorities
are asking the public for help in finding more information on Alexis and the shooting.
Police
initially said that they were looking for two more potential suspects, but later said
they had found and cleared one of the individuals, leaving the other possible suspect
at large. Washington Mayor Vincent Gray told reporters that the motive for the shooting
is unclear.
As the nation confronts “yet another mass shooting,” President
Barack Obama said in a Sept. 16 press conference, “we send our thoughts and prayers
to all at the Navy Yard who’ve been touched by this tragedy.” “We thank them for their
service. We stand with the families of those who’ve been harmed. They’re going to
need our love and support.”
The president said authorities are investigating
the shooting in order to “make sure whoever carried out this cowardly act is held
responsible” and prevent similar acts of violence.
Military Archbishop Timothy
Broglio said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news. Noting that he has
“often visited and celebrated the Eucharist” at the base's chapel, he added that he
“prayed for the victims, the wounded, and their families at the noon Mass at the Archdiocesan
Pastoral Center.”
Archbishop Broglio urged society to “restore the notion of
respect for life into the fabric of the Nation,” in order to prevent such acts in
the future.
“When the uniqueness of the human person created in the image and
likeness of God is universally recognized, the possibility of a mass shooting is more
remote,” he said. Source: CNA/EWTN News