Episcopal bishops respond to assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at campaign rally

[Episcopal News Service] Bishops from across The Episcopal Church, including Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, have released statements condemning the July 13 assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.

“The way of love – not the way of violence – is the way we bind up our nation’s wounds. We decry political violence in any form, and our call as followers of Jesus of Nazareth is always to love. We pray for the families of those who were killed,” Curry said in a July 13 statement released by The Episcopal Church’s Office of Public Affairs. “We pray for former President Trump and his family and for all who were harmed or impacted by this incident. I pray that we as a nation and a world may see each other as the beloved children of God.”

The mass shooting in the greater Pittsburgh region resulted in two deaths, including the suspect, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who had no prior criminal record. Two people are in critical but stable condition.

“As more information emerges, we decry all violence that threatens human life, and certainly the lives of those who put themselves forward in our democratic, political processes,” California Bishop Marc Andrus and California Bishop Coadjutor Austin Rios said in a July 13 statement posted to the diocese’s Facebook page. “These processes must be safe, and the people who run for election, and those who surround them with their support, must be able to do so without fear.”

Trump was not critically injured, but his upper right ear was grazed.

“We give thanks that former President Trump is safe and we pray for the repose of the souls of those who were shot in today’s incident,” Dallas Bishop George Sumner said in a statement posted to the diocese’s Facebook page. “We pray for the safety of all in public life. We give thanks for all those who protect us. We pray for the cessation of violence in our political life, as well as rhetoric on all media that promote it.”

Bishops United Against Gun Violence, a network of more than 100 Episcopal bishops working to reduce gun violence, also posted a statement responding to the shooting on its Facebook page:

“We pray for former President Trump, for those who have died and been injured at today’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and for all victims of gun violence. In our democracy, political violence is never the answer.”

Michigan Bishop Bonnie Perry, a co-convener of Bishops United Against Gun Violence, said in a July 13 statement she was “aghast” that someone would fire shots at Trump.

“I am deeply grateful that he is in good condition with what appear to be only minor wounds. I am and I ask all of us to pray for his well-being, for healing of the trauma this has inflicted upon him, the people close to him and upon the people who were attending a political rally and then suddenly found themselves in the presence of an active shooter,” she said.  “Our country is in peril. We cannot settle our differences with violence. Gun violence is wreaking havoc on all of our communities, whether you are attending a block party in Detroit or speaking at a presidential rally in Western Pennsylvania. This is a sin. A grievous sin that we, as people of faith, must address.”

As of June 15, 298 mass shootings have occurred nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an American nonprofit that catalogs every gun-related death in the United States. A mass shooting is defined as one in which at least four people are shot, either fatally or non-fatally, excluding the shooter.

In a July 14 statement, New Hampshire Bishop Rob Hirschfeld said “only the most cynical among us” will be undisturbed by the assassination attempt. He referred to Mark 6:14-29 in the statement:

“The way the world settles its disputes and conflict is habitually by force and savagery, rather than by the means of peace and forbearance,” Hirschfeld said. “To follow Jesus entails being acutely aware that the way of the world’s power and the Way of Christ’s Kingdom will be in stark contrast to one another.”

The July 13 shooting wasn’t the first known incident where someone attempted to assassinate Trump – three separate incidents occurred in 2016 and 2017. Two other presidents have been injured in attempted assassination attempts: Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed, all by gunshot: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy.

Mississippi Bishop Brian R. Seage said in a July 13 statement posted to the diocese’s Facebook page that the assassination attempt on Trump “reminds us of the fragility of life and the urgent need for healing in our society.”

“As a community guided by faith, let us remember the teachings of compassion, forgiveness, and unity,” Seage said “Let us reach out to those in need, offering support and comfort wherever possible. And let us reaffirm our commitment to building a world where peace and justice prevail.”

During the 81st General Convention held last month in Louisville, Kentucky, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies voted to adopt various resolutions addressing gun violence, including D011, “The Prohibition of Assault Weapons,” which calls on The Episcopal Church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations to “strongly urge” Congress to ban the personal possession of all military-style assault weapons, bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. The weapon used to shoot trump at the campaign rally was a semiautomatic rifle legally purchased and registered to the suspect’s father.

“None of us is immune to the American epidemic of gun violence, and we condemn it in all its forms, and this day especially in the form of political violence,” North Carolina Bishop Sam Rodman and Assistant Bishop Jennifer Brooke-Davidson said in a July 14 statement. “The beloved community is a realm of peace that is the fruit of love, not of hatred nor violence.”

Bishops United Against Gun Violence joined members of the Youth Working to End Gun Violence delegation and in leading a march to pray and speak out in favor of gun safety during the 81st General Convention. The church’s history of passing gun-safety legislation dates to 1976. 

“Let us continue to work, advocate, and pray for an end to gun violence everywhere – that there may be justice and peace at home for all,” Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows said in a July 13 statement posted to the diocese’s Facebook page.

Springfield Bishop Brian K. Burgess called his diocese to intentional, intercessory prayer as a witness to the world.

“We have rights and privileges that are intended to mirror our theology so closely that they, too, bend time and space to their divinely orchestrated will,” he said in a July 13 statement. “However, with rights and privileges come responsibilities. It is time to temper the heat of political debate with common prayer, sacraments, and living into a scriptural rather than a social ethic. We don’t have a gun problem in this country, we have a sin problem … . Our children and grandchildren are watching.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.