NEW YORK (AP) — American religious leaders across faiths are grappling with the heavy burden of helping to heal two active traumas: rising civil unrest driven by the police killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus pandemic.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders have raised their voices to condemn racial bias in the justice system while discouraging violence in response to the killing of Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Khabeb said the shared pain caused by Floyd’s death was exposing the brutal double toll being exacted on people of color.

Among the religious leaders in Minnesota organizing for spiritual care since Floyd’s death was Bernard Hebda, the Catholic archbishop of the Twin Cities.

But as the frustration sparked by Floyd’s killing scorched dozens of other cities, religious denominations nationwide began speaking out to sympathize with the pain that brought protesters into the streets.

White Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder in connection with Floyd’s death, which follows the highly-publicized killings of two black Americans this year -- Georgian Ahmaud Arbery, shot while running, and Breonna Taylor, shot by police in her Louisville, Kentucky home.

One pastor planning to reopen his church for in-person worship this week, amid ongoing tension over the public health risk of physical services, said the protests show communities have a strong need for religious institutions during a time of crisis.

Lewis, senior minister at New York City’s Middle Collegiate Church, urged other faith leaders to respond to Floyd’s killing by taking their sympathy from words to actions.