‘Cruel, unjust, evil’: Christian leaders react to the police killing of Tyre Nichols

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, January 30, 2023

Elizabeth Eaton

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, released a statement denouncing the killing of Nichols, drawing a parallel to recent mass shootings.

"Each of these tragedies inspires grief, not only for the lives lost and forever altered but also for our loss of confidence in a system that continues to fail us, over and over," she stated.

Eaton noted that all Americans must "face this problem," and "we must cry out, much as Rachael wept in loud lamentation, 'How long, O Lord?'"

"How long, O Lord, will we need to suffer at the hands of injustice? How long, O Lord, will we hear of lives taken by another shooting and fear for our own lives and our families' lives? How long, O Lord, will we fear a system that is supposed to protect all lives?" continued Eaton.

"Dear church, now is the time to focus, listen, learn, counsel, advocate for just reforms, and lament a grief that seems relentless, that is awoken again with each act of tragedy and injustice across this nation. "