Skip to Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life Full Site Menu Skip to main content
June 8, 2022

After Buffalo, After Uvalde, After Tulsa

Broken Hearts, Broken Nation, Faithful Action

Showing the After Buffalo, After Uvalde, After Tulsa Video

The shootings of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas, Black shoppers in Buffalo, New York, and physicians and others at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have broken our hearts and are testing our nation. What does faith offer and demand in the face of such evil and loss? How are disciples of Jesus called to comfort those who mourn, to hunger and thirst for justice, and to become peacemakers? What does Catholic social teaching on defending human life and living with solidarity require to change racist actions and structures, to change laws to prevent gun violence, and to change our hearts to overcome a culture of violence?

These urgent and haunting questions were explored by a Catholic archbishop who has been at the heart of the care and ministry for the families and community of Uvalde, the president of Catholic Health Association, a religious woman who has led corporate responsibility efforts on gun safety, a priest and theologian who is a leader in confronting racism and injustice, and a journalist covering the human and spiritual devastation in Buffalo and Uvalde.

John Carr, co-director of the Initiative and former director of justice and peace efforts of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, moderated the dialogue.

Resources

View a list of articles, statements, videos, and other resources for this dialogue.

Participants

Sr. Judy Byron, O.P.

Sr. Judy Byron, O.P.

Sr. Judy Byron, O.P., is an Adrian Dominican sister, a former teacher, and the associate director of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center in Seattle, Washington. She is also director of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment and a leader in corporate responsibility efforts on gun safety.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller is the archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, an archdiocese that includes the town of Uvalde. He has been at the center of the Catholic Church’s response to the killing of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

Rhina Guidos

Rhina Guidos

Rhina Guidos is a reporter and editor at Catholic News Service where she is covering the Church’s responses to the Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa mass shootings. She also is the author of Rutilio Grande: A Table for All (2018).

Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM

Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM

Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and the president and CEO of Catholic Health Association (CHA). CHA has long advocated for sensible gun policies and supported research into the root causes of gun violence, most recently in the wake of the mass shootings in Tulsa, Uvalde, and Buffalo.

Fr. Bryan Massingale

Fr. Bryan Massingale

Fr. Bryan Massingale is a professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University in New York and author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (2010). He is the 2022 recipient of the Faith Doing Justice Award from Ignatian Solidarity Network.