We now grieve again due to another act of senseless gun violence, this time as lives were shattered in a municipal workplace in Virginia Beach, Virginia, claiming 12 lives and injuring several others.
We pray for the repose of the souls of those who were killed; for healing for those who were injured; for their families, and for the entire Virginia Beach community who must endure this time of tremendous loss and sadness.
I ask that all people of goodwill join me and the priests from the Diocese of Cleveland who are currently on retreat in Assisi, Italy in prayer that, through the intercession of St. Francis, God may dispel the darkness of evil in our land and grant us His peace. May the God of all goodness and mercy provide us with light where there is darkness, love where there is hate, and kindness where there is contempt, and may He unite us in the bonds of peace, now and forever.
