The Rt. Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr., Bishop of Louisiana, called for prayers after shootings near Washington, D.C., on June 14 that left five people wounded.
Police said that John Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, attacked a group of Congress members who were practicing for a charity baseball game. The rifle attack left the U.S. House of Representatives’ majority whip, Steve Scalise (R-La.), in critical condition. Police shot and killed Hodgkinson, 66.
Bishop Thompson wrote:
While preparing for our flight to New Orleans this morning Rebecca and I were shocked and saddened to hear of the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise and several others. Louisiana is all too familiar with senseless killings and the pain of it is burdened by her people. Please join me in prayers for Rep. Scalise, his family, the other victims of this madness, as well as the perpetrator and his family.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
