WASHINGTON (RNS) — Calling the White House “a symbol of ongoing support for destruction of human lives,” Catholic Bishop John Stowe appeared at a prayer vigil outside the presidential mansion on Friday (May 3), joining a group of religious demonstrators as they urged President Joe Biden to back a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and halt offensive weapons shipments to Israel.Stowe said the protesters hoped to appeal to Biden’s Catholicism, saying the group intended to deliver a new letter signed by more than 200 U.S. Catholic leaders, including a cardinal, an archbishop and several nuns, to the president, urging him to do more to stop the violence. Activists read the letter aloud during the demonstration.
It is rare in recent years for an active American Catholic bishop to participate in a political demonstration. The Catholic hierarchy more commonly expresses its views as a group as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, most often in written statements. Stowe, who heads the Catholic diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, is president of Pax Christi USA, a Catholic anti-war advocacy group that helped organize the vigil as part of Christians for Ceasefire.
But Stowe has become known for his willingness to speak out on a range of issues. In 2019, he publicly criticized former President Donald Trump for what the prelate characterized as a narrow pro-life agenda, pursuing an end to Roe v. Wade while f …
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It is rare in recent years for an active American Catholic bishop to participate in a political demonstration. The Catholic hierarchy more commonly expresses its views as a group as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, most often in written statements. Stowe, who heads the Catholic diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, is president of Pax Christi USA, a Catholic anti-war advocacy group that helped organize the vigil as part of Christians for Ceasefire.
But Stowe has become known for his willingness to speak out on a range of issues. In 2019, he publicly criticized former President Donald Trump for what the prelate characterized as a narrow pro-life agenda, pursuing an end to Roe v. Wade while f …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]