Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago said: "Every corner of our land is in the grip of terror fueled by anger, hatred and mental illness and made possible by plentiful, powerful weapons."

"It is time to break the cycle of violence and retaliation, of fear and powerlessness that puts more guns in our homes and on our streets," he said in a statement.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia similarly pointed out violence is not an answer.

"The killings in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas have proven that by deepening the divides in our national life," he said in a July 8 statement.

"Black lives matter because all lives matter -- beginning with the poor and marginalized, but including the men and women of all races who put their lives on the line to protect the whole community," he said.

Other bishops have also responded with statements to the recent fatal shootings.

Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik said: "If someone does something violent, it is imperative for us to reach out to each other in kindness and with respect and refrain from blanket condemnations. We must build bridges. We must tear down walls. We must break the cycle of violence."

He also called on people to recognize that each person is an individual. "We must not judge any person based on their race or color, their national origin, their faith tradition, their politics, their sexual orientation, their job, their vocation, their uniform."

Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, said the shootings should cause us to ask God "to show us the way to peace and how to live in harmony with each other."

He urged Christians to be "people of hope promoting reconciliation in a very violent world" and asked: "How much more killing must we witness before sensibly and rationally addressing the prevalence of guns, the inequalities in access to justice and the violence found in human hearts?"