Amid unrest over immigration enforcement, USCCB president calls for ‘Holy Hour for peace’

Archbishop Paul Coakley, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has urged his fellow bishops and priests in the United States to offer a “Holy Hour for peace” among ongoing unrest and violence around the country stemming from federal immigration enforcement.

A centuries-old Catholic devotion in which the faithful reflect, worship, and pray fervently, often before the Blessed Sacrament, a Holy Hour can be spent praying for a variety of causes, including vocations, life, and other matters of faith.

In his Jan. 28 statement, Coakley cited the recent shooting deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis, both of whom were killed by, and during altercations with, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.

The prelate also pointed to the death of a Cuban national who died after guards held him down at a detention facility in Texas. An autopsy report ruled his death a homicide.

Those deaths “are just a few of the tragic examples of the violence that represent failures in our society to respect the dignity of every human life,” the archbishop said.

Mourning “this loss of life” and deploring “the indifference and injustice it represents,” Coakley said the “current climate of fear and polarization, which thrives when human dignity is disregarded, does not meet the standard set by Christ in the Gospel.”

The archbishop said he was inviting his “brother bishops and priests” around the country to offer a Holy Hour for peace in response to the ongoing violence.

“Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights, and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or loss,” he said.

Coakley said he encouraged Catholics everywhere to “participate, whether in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts for healing in our nation and communities.”

The archbishop in his message admitted that many people “feel powerless in the face of violence, injustice, and social unrest.”

“To those who feel this way, I wish to say clearly: Your faithfulness matters. Your prayers matter. Your acts of love and works of justice matter,” he said.

U.S. Catholic leaders in both Minnesota and elsewhere have called for peace amid the ongoing tension surrounding federal immigration actions, with Coakley himself on Jan. 25 urging calm and restraint in Minneapolis as protesters regularly clash with federal agents.