The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, an international congregation of women, are deeply troubled and distressed by the violent assault on Asian owned and staffed massage businesses last week. We mourn with the families of the eight people killed in the rampage, six of them women of Asian descent. We are in solidarity with these families and offer our prayers of consolation for their loss.

The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.

At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.” The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.

We witness our faith by rejecting activities or practices that deliberately abuse, destroy or deny our sacred humanity or the beauty and abundance of God’s creation. This recent act of violence highlights the social tensions and prejudices many face daily in our country due to racism, misogyny, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia. We denounce all these forms of discrimination, exclusion and lack of respect for others and join in the national call for an immediate end to acts of violence against our Asian-American and Pacific Island sisters and brothers.

We call on our elected leaders, locally and nationally, to recognize and celebrate the diversity in our nation. We urge them to address the dangerous, divisive forces in our midst, and to pass legislation that leads to the compassionate, just, equitable and inclusive treatment of all people.

We urge Congress to enact strong hate crime legislation to ensure that the rights of all are protected by law.

Members of the Congregational Council of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Sister Cecilia Canales, Prioress; Councilors: S. Diane Bridenbecker, S. Liam Brock, S. Mary Susanna Vasquez and S. Verónica Esparza Ramírez