Horror and grief after the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando: Forty-nine people and gunman Omar Mateen were killed and dozens more wounded. Prayer vigils and memorial services have been held across the country. Religious leaders swiftly and strongly condemned the violence. Pope Francis called it “homicidal folly and senseless hatred.” Southern Baptist Convention leader Ronnie Floyd said, “This attack against gay Americans in Orlando is an attack on each of us.”
Mateen was a Muslim born in the US who pledged his allegiance to ISIS and other terror groups. More than 200 Islamic leaders released an unprecedented joint statement asserting that “any such acts of violence violate every one of our Prophet’s teachings.
For more watch this week’s report on “Religious Responses to Orlando.”