The Most Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with members of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops-Canadian Rabbinic Caucus dialogue, on October 29, 2018, wrote a letter to the Chairs of the Caucus offering condolences and support in response to the recent violence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 27, 2018.
«This act of unspeakable violence during the Sabbath is a terrible and clear manifestation of anti-Semitism, a scourge which most regrettably persists in our world today and is of great concern to the Jewish community, the Catholic Church and society as a whole,» the letter said in part.
Full Text of Letter
On behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Canada, we wish to extend to you and the Jewish communities of Canada our deepest condolences and support in response to the shooting that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this past Saturday. We have tragically learned that this horrendous incident has claimed the lives of eleven congregants of the synagogue along with many others injured, including first responders
This act of unspeakable violence during the Sabbath is a terrible and clear manifestation of antiSemitism,
a scourge which most regrettably persists in our world today and is of great concern to the Jewish community, the Catholic Church and society as a whole. We are acutely aware of and sensitive to the trauma caused by such acts reverberates throughout the Jewish communities with its pain and terrible effects not being lessened by distance or geographic borders.
At this difficult time of both mourning and distress, we wish to tighten the hands of friendship with you, to emphasize our solidarity, our prayers, and our closeness to the Jewish people of Canada. May the Lord of peace and love comfort those who have lost their loved ones and extinguish the vehemence, hate, and division which are plaguing our world.
