Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette has issued the following statement to the people of Acadiana:
Statement on Tragedies in El Paso and Dayton
All of us are shocked by the senseless violence, loss of life and evil that took place in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio this weekend. Twenty-nine innocent people, men, women, children and senior citizens were brutally murdered. Ordinary people like us, shopping for back to school supplies or enjoying an evening with friends were gunned down in an unspeakably evil act.
Our minds cannot understand why. We try to put logic to an illogical act, reason to an irrational taking of innocent life. How can such evil come from the human heart? I call all people of good will to join me in prayer for the happy repose of the souls of those innocent victims and their families who carry such a heavy cross. May a loving God who created them gather them into His warm embrace. I ask all to pray that our country return to a reverence and respect for the sacredness of all human life created in the image and likeness of God and precious from the moment of conception in the womb to natural death.
Let us also pray in thanksgiving for all the law enforcement personnel and first responders who acted so swiftly and put their lives on the line to save others. "No greater love exists than to lay down one's life for another."
+ Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel, D.D.
Bishop of Lafayette
