The bishops said they find these actions unacceptable and called on Catholics, fellow Christians and all people of goodwill to help them combat such acts of racism and xenophobia.

The retired Pope Benedict said: “Modern society is in the process of formulating an anti-Christian creed, and resisting this creed is punished by social excommunication.”

The Callifornia Catholic Bishops Conference has urged Governor Gavin Newsom to increase aid to immigrants and low-wage residents in California while the pandemic is ongoing.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is offering $1,000 grants to each parish that commits to supporting the program with the funds to be used to purchase groceries.

Due to the economic problems created by the pandemic, the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio has announced that it will assume the remaining tuition costs after scholarships and grants for the fall 2020 semester have been used. It will apply to all incoming full-time undergraduate students enrolled in on-campus programs.

Earth Day was created in 1970 by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin.

The fund will operate "thanks to the active collaboration of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine," the statement said.

"Such a tragic event, involving the meaningless death of so many of our fellow citizens, has shocked us all," he said, "adding more collective suffering to an already tragic time in our province, our country and our personal lives.

While the pandemic is being handled on the home front, many U.S.-based aid groups are working to assist the poor and migrant communities around the world in dealing with the crisis.

"This individualized consideration should be based on current objective medical evidence and the expressed views of the patients themselves as opposed to unfounded assumptions," the guidelines said.