Cabinet Releases Statement Responding to Violence in France and Nigeria

The Cabinet has issued the following statement in response to the violence in France and Nigeria.

We, the leaders of the Interfaith Partnership Cabinet of Greater St. Louis, send our sincerest condolences and prayers to the victims of these evil attacks, to their friends and families, and to the whole of France and Nigeria.

We view the use of false theological rhetoric justifying murderous violence as an assault on the dignity of our faiths. We refuse to be silent bystanders who accept terrorism as the status quo; instead we urge all persons to condemn the dangers of extremism.

Such dangers begin with the tragic, unacceptable loss of life, but they do not end here. The weed of hatred grows rampantly—rebellious and without regard for governance. It threatens the relationships and communities cultivated by religious and political leaders with their eyes on our universal values: equality and freedom, most notably of thought, expression and religious belief.

We refuse to be divided by the presence of such a poisonous weed. Instead we seek a way forward together with the people who have been victims of senseless violence. After a year in which violence has assaulted our own sense of community, we seek the infinite stores of compassion within us for our neighbors both next door and across the Atlantic. Our work is not finished until we have eradicated violence in all the world—and in our hearts.

Rev. C. Jessel Strong, African Methodist Episcopal Church and Clergy Coalition
Chair of the Cabinet

Dr. Paul Hintze, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Vice Chair of the Cabinet

Please see full list of Cabinet members here.