One of the few church leaders to issue a statement on his own, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church Michael Curry declared, “Staying quiet in this moment would be a stain upon our souls and would deepen our complicity… As Episcopalians, we must call upon our leaders—President Biden, members of Congress, and others—to be unequivocal that we need to stop the killing. Today. This is clearly what love demands of us.”

Last week, over 900 Black clergy bought a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for a ceasefire. In a Washington Post article, the Rev. Michael McBride, a co-coordinator of the ad, was quoted as saying, “We are faith leaders in the African American faith tradition, in the Black church prophetic tradition, and we are people familiar with pain and suffering enacted by state actors.”

“A cease-fire is our minimum demand…” McBride said. “At some point, bombs and the fighting have to cease and move to a solution that is one of mutual coexistence, peace, and justice for all in the region.”

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Earlier this month, Catholic activists hosted a “pray-in” outside the White House. They called on the president to advocate for a cease-fire. Michele Dunne, head of the Franciscan Action Network, said, “We came here today to deliver a message to President Biden, that we expect him as our president, as a Christian and, in fact, as a fellow Catholic, to be playing a role in the world for peace.” In addition to the Franciscan Action Network, the “pray-in” protest was supported by many other Catholic groups, including the Catholic Advisory Council of Churches for Middle East Peace, Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Pax Christi USA, and the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.