WASHINGTON – In a statement titled, “‘Pursue What Leads to Peace’: A Christian Response to Rising Threats of Political and Ideological Violence,” Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia urged all Christians and people of good will to avoid political violence of any kind and instead to pursue peace through dialogue and justice.

The statement was issued in Archbishop Gudziak’s capacity as chairman of the Committee for Domestic Justice and Human Development for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The statement comes during a presidential election cycle in which partisan speech has intensified, and in which negative sentiment, insults, fear, anger, and anxiety have become more prevalent.

The full statement can be found here.

The USCCB’s Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics initiative can serve as a helpful resource during election season as Catholics seek to engage with love and practice civil dialogue.