Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, told Jewish leaders that the Bondi Beach shooting is “a painful reminder that hatred remains a threat to our lives, our communities, and the bonds that unite us.”
Hanukkah, which “commemorates an event in salvation history cherished by Catholics as well as Jews, proclaims the truth that light endures, even when darkness seems overwhelming,” Archbishop Coakley said in his letter, released yesterday. “I wish the Jewish community to know that the Catholic community stands with them in sorrow and in resolve, committed to friendship that does not waver when fear threatens to paralyze us.”