Condolences to family of slain security guard
Shoah warns that violence toward one is violence toward all
Museum cautions against danger of unchecked hatred, genocide

CARDINAL GEORGE CALLS VIOLENCE AT HOLOCAUST MUSEUM APPALLING;
CITES NEED FOR EDUCATION AGAINST RACIAL, RELIGIOUS PREJUDICE

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the violence of the June 10 shooting at the Holocaust Museum was “appalling.” He added that “This tragic incident only serves to reinforce the need for continued education throughout society against bias of every kind, but most especially racial and religious prejudice.”

His entire statement, issued Jun 11, follows. 

The shooting that took place yesterday, June 10, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. was a deplorable act of violence and a violation of a hallowed space in our nation’s capital. By preserving the memory of the six million Jews who died in the Shoah, the Museum speaks to the consciences of all who pass through its doors and hear the powerful stories of the innocent men, women and children who lost their lives at the hands of a criminal regime. Each year millions of visitors to the Museum learn of the dangers of unchecked hatred and of the need to prevent genocide wherever it threatens. This tragic incident only serves to reinforce the need for continued education throughout society against bias of every kind, but most especially racial and religious prejudice.

On behalf of the Catholic Bishops of the United States I offer prayerful condolences to the family of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, who died in the line of duty, and to the staff of the Museum who endured this appalling act of violence.  As Catholic Bishops who are committed to protecting the sacredness of all human life and promoting human dignity and interreligious peace throughout our nation, we echo the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “May the Shoah be a warning for all against forgetfulness, denial or reductionism, because violence committed against one single human being is violence against all.” (General Audience, January 28, 2009)  

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