Philadelphia priests look for ways to stop city s gun violence cruxnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cruxnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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By Gina Christian • Posted April 8, 2021
Philadelphia’s soaring rates of homicide and gun violence are down to deep-rooted causes – and the solution ultimately lies in the hope offered by the Gospel, along with concrete action, say several archdiocesan clergy.
Since January, the city has seen a 33% increase in homicides over 2020, with at least 129 victims. As of April 6, there were 96 fatal shootings, with another 418 nonfatal gun attacks.
Last year was its own grim milestone, marking a 30-year high in Philadelphia’s murder rate, and exceeding the 2019 homicide total by 40%.
Those wounded or killed have included pregnant women and children as young as 11 months. One 55-year-old man, a member of a video production team, was shot dead March 31 in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section while filming an anti-violence documentary for Netflix.
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Msgr. Ray East, pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church in Washington, speaks during a prayerful protest outside the White House June 8, 2020, following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man whose neck was pinned to the ground by police for more than eight minutes before he was taken to the hospital. (CNS/Bob Roller)
Washington This year, as tens of thousands of people nationwide protested racial injustices, Catholics similarly took to the streets and also joined in prayer services and discussions speaking out against inequalities and seeking a path forward.
The protest marches over the summer were primarily in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who died after being pinned to the ground by a white police officer.