PCC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OFFERS THOUGHTS ON COMMEMORATION OF HOLOCAUST
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, Eric Failing, today issued some heartfelt comments to honor the Commemoration of the Holocaust. He started off by acknowledging the hardships that we face now.
“While these are no doubt challenging times, they pale in comparison to the many tragedies faced by those who’ve gone before us,” Failing said. “That is why now, more than ever, we must continue to gather as brothers and sisters to remember the monstrous hate endured by our loved ones, and to vow to never let future generations suffer the same fate. Hate must stop.”
Back in October Failing stood with a number of lawmakers and community groups to roll out a concerted effort to curb hate crimes. That gathering came just after the one-year anniversary of the tragic Tree of Life shootings that took the lives of 11 people and injured seven others.
Failing, as he did in October, today urged people across the world to treat each other with compassion. That message is especially important now with tensions running high in many communities during the current healthcare crisis.
“At the end of the day, what we really need is to get to know one another,” Failing said. “You can’t hate somebody if you know them. But you’re not going to stop hate. It will never disappear; the world has too much evil in it. So it is incumbent upon all of us, each individual, to, as we hear in Leviticus, love thy neighbor as yourself…and yes, perhaps that means someone you’re not comfortable with…it might mean we develop a deeper understanding of humanity; it might mean we understand ourselves a little differently; but in the end, isn’t that the point? To understand each other? Only when we truly understand one another do we defeat hatred. “
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is based in Harrisburg and is the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops.
