Amid a tense political climate both on Capitol Hill in the US capitol and among voters across the country, one of the nation's leading bishops is calling on people to choose peaceful dialogue over resorting to physical and verbal assaults.

The US Bishops’ Conference Committee published a statement earlier this month titled “Pursue What Leads to Peace: A Christian Response to Rising Threats of Political and Ideological Violence”. Last week, Archbishop Borys Gudziak, who leads the US Bishops’ Conference Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, sent the statement to members of Congress, along with a letter written by him specifically encouraging them to change their tune.