Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila has issued the following statement on the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests in Minneapolis, Denver, and cities across the United States:
“The death of George Floyd this past Monday was horrifying for any person of good will. The inhumane action of one police officer has impacted the entire country and caused undue damage. Racism has no place in the Gospel message or any civil society.
The Catholic Church has always promoted a culture of life, but too often our society has lost its sense of the dignity of every human being from the time of conception until natural death. Every Catholic has a responsibility to promote the dignity of life at every level of life. Too many have made their god their ideology, political party, or the color of their skin, and not the Gospel of Life and the dignity of every human being.
The outrage around the death of George Floyd is understandable and justice must be served.
Yet the violence that we have seen throughout the streets of Denver and other cities in our country only advances a culture of death and hatred. Violence against innocent people has no place in a civil society and must come to an end.
I encourage the faithful of the archdiocese to examine our consciences on how we promote a culture of life on all levels, to pray for the conversion of hearts of those who promote racism, to pray that our society may return to a culture of life, and finally and most importantly, to pray for the repose of the soul of George Floyd, for his family in their loss, and that justice may be served in his case.”
