Melbourne, Australia, Jan 25, 2020 / 03:49 am
Committee leaders at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops voiced prayers and sorrow at the deaths of three American crew members who were killed in an air tanker crash while trying to fight massive wildfires in New South Wales, Australia.
"We join in prayerful solidarity with their families and with all the people of Australia and all those in regions affected by these terrible fires," said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City and Bishop David Malloy of Rockford.
Archbishop Coakley chairs the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, while Bishop Malloy heads the Committee on International Justice and Peace.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who are suffering from this tragedy and from the disaster these dedicated professionals were fighting," they said in a Jan. 23 statement. "In our prayer, we recall in trust that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, offering Himself to us and calling us to Himself even in our hardest hour."