Religious and civic leaders called for peace after five Dallas law enforcement officers were killed on July 7 when a sniper opened fire in downtown Dallas.

"We have been swept up in the escalating cycle of violence that has now touched us intimately as it has others throughout our country and the world," said Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell, who has blogged in the past several months about the escalating gun violence across the country and world. "All lives matter: black, white, Muslim, Christian, Hindu. We are all children of God, and all human life is precious.