By Daniel Payne
CNA Staff, Jun 14, 2025 /
15:16 pm
Catholic leaders in Minnesota responded with prayers and calls for peace following what authorities said were the politically motivated shootings of state lawmakers that left two dead.
Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed early on Saturday in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were also shot early on Saturday in their home in Champlin, with both reportedly expected to survive after surgery.
Authorities said they engaged the suspect at Hortman’s home, but the alleged killer was able to escape on foot. Police reportedly discovered a list of possible additional targets in the suspect’s car, including state Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.
A manhunt for the killer was still underway on Saturday afternoon.
‘We must do everything in our power to regain a sense of civility’
On Saturday, Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda in a statement called on “all people of goodwill to join me in prayer for the repose of the souls of Minnesota House Speaker-Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, along with prayers of recovery for Senator John Hoffman and his wife.”
“I also ask you to pray for the members of law enforcement who are putting themselves at risk hunting down the person, or people, who inflicted this violence and terrorized communities,” the archbishop said. “There is absolutely no reason for someone to commit such senseless violence on anyone, particularly those who are involved in public service.”
Hebda described Hortman as “an honorable public servant” who met regularly with the Catholic bishops of the state.
“Although we disagreed on some issues, we worked collaboratively to find common ground on others in pursuit of the common good,” he said.
Hoffman, meanwhile, “is always generous with his time, as well, meeting with the bishops whenever they are at the Capitol. He is a strong advocate for the most vulnerable, and Minnesota continues to need his leadership.”
“At this time of fear and uncertainty, we need to rely even more on our loving God and that begins with prayer – both privately and communally,” the archbishop said.
Also on Saturday, Jason Adkins, the executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said he was “deeply saddened and angered” by the shootings and killings, describing Hortman as a collaborative lawmaker and Hoffman as “a champion of vulnerable people” and “a friend.”
“Resorting to violence in public life is never acceptable and begets more violence,” he said. “Unfortunately, we, as a society, have increasingly embraced violence as a means of solving problems because we have lost a sense of the dignity of every human person created in the image and likeness of God.”
“Until we recover a deeper sense of our common humanity and fraternity, we will continue to see the collapse of both civic discourse and the ability of our political process to mediate conflict and achieve the common good,” Adkins said.
In a statement on Saturday, Gov. Tim Walz said: “We are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint.”
“We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to peacefully disagree, that our state is strengthened by civil public debate. We must stand united against all forms of violence – and I call on everyone to join me in that commitment,” he said.
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Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.
