WASHINGTON — Following the news of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offered the following statement:

“We are grateful the lives of the President, those who protect him, and everyone in attendance last night were spared from serious harm. Let us all pray for our elected leaders and public officials that they may receive God’s blessings. Because human life is a precious gift, there is no room for violence of any kind in our society.”