Toronto archbishop calls for prayers after mass shooting

July 23, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Toronto, Canada, Jul 23, 2018 / 11:04 am (ACI Prensa).- Churches in the Archdiocese of Toronto will offer a special prayer for the victims of a mass shooting Sunday night that left two dead and a dozen injured in the city’s Greektown neighborhood.

“Please join me in praying for all those injured and killed in the wake of the Sunday evening Danforth shooting,” said Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, in a statement released on Twitter.

“I will be asking all Archdiocese of Toronto churches to offer a special prayer intention for victims of violence in our community. Let us unite in our comfort and care for those who are hurting today,” wrote Collins.

On July 22, shortly after 10 p.m., a man armed with a handgun entered several restaurants on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue, opening fire at several groups of people. Police have not released his identity or uncovered a motive. Terrorism is being investigated as a possibility.

The people killed in the shooting have been identified as a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman. The shooter was also found dead, but it was unclear if he was shot by police or if he died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

John Tory, the mayor of Toronto, said that he was “outraged” by the attack, thanked the first responders who arrived at the scene to help the injured.

“This is a tragedy and on behalf of all Toronto residents, we are extending our prayers to all the innocent people attacked tonight, their families and their friends,” Tory wrote on Twitter.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he would be keeping the city in his thoughts in the aftermath of the shooting, and that Canadians would be standing by the city.

“The people of Toronto are strong, resilient and brave – and we’ll be there to support you through this difficult time,” said Trudeau.

 

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Mexican priest who survived COVID: God acts in the midst of suffering

May 21, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

Mexico City, Mexico, May 21, 2020 / 04:55 pm (CNA).- When Fr. Antonio Pérez Hernández was recently hospitalized with COVID-19, he said he was able to witness firsthand how God is present in the midst of suffering.

The priest shared his experience in a recent video posted by the archdiocese of Tlanepantla, Mexico, where he serves.
After Pérez fell sick with the virus, he was admitted to a public hospital where he shared a room with other patients, some of whom died.

“When I was in that place, there came a time when I did feel like God could call me into his presence,” he said.

“And that’s when you discover abandonment, the total abandonment of saying to the Lord: ‘Here I am, if you want to call me, I am willing; if you want to leave me, I am also willing. I only ask that you please give me the strength to give absolution and attend to my brothers who are suffering from the disease just like I am’.”

The priest said that despite the illness, his experience at the hospital was beautiful and freeing, because he “felt the loving presence of God.”

While at the hospital, Pérez said he always introduced himself as a priest and gave absolution to the sick who requested it. He said he found Christ in the sick patients and was reminded that “we all need Jesus.”

He witnessed four patients die, but said that after giving them absolution, he could see that “they were comforted, they were at peace.”

Through constant prayer, the priest said he watched the hospital rooms be transformed into places of peace where the presence of God could be felt and encountered.

When Pérez was discharged, he said some people told him, “Father we’re going to miss you, you gave us hope, you made us feel Christ in the midst of all this.”

“I said to them: ‘Christ is going to stay with you. I am leaving, but Christ remains. God is not leaving you alone’,” he continued.

Pérez believes God is using the pandemic to heal hearts. “God is making us see what is truly important,” he said.

“Those of us who were there had no contact with family. Those who died, died without having any contact with the family,” Pérez recounted, and stressed the importance of  “valuing the presence of the family, valuing friends, valuing life.”

“There comes a time when you only have your hospital gown, you have nothing,” he said, but at that moment “you experience that abandonment of saying to the Lord: ‘Lord, I have you. What more do I want if I have you?’”

 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

 

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