The following comes from a November 21 Catholic Voice article:

In the days after the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, Catholics across the country — from students to bishops — expressed their concern for immigrants, people of color and others whose futures were cast in doubt by his statements during the campaign.

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles called for mercy and an end to deportations as he led religious leaders in an interfaith prayer service Nov. 10 for peace, solidarity and unity at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Many students at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland came to school the morning after the election “feeling frustrated, confused and powerless,” according to a statement from the school.

“We made a decision to create an open, yet bounded space for students to gather at 9:30 a.m.,” the statement said. “Many students chose to leave class and we allowed them to assemble on the Quad. Many students felt the need to gather with other students in an expression of emotion.”

The school reported that students returned to their regular class schedule about an hour later.

“Our students are to be commended for their hopeful messaging, prayer and calls to work together on issues of inclusion, love and respect,” the statement said.

A day later, students at Holy Names High School left their campus at 12:55 p.m. “We are walking in an effort to spread the message of solidarity and peace within our divided country,” Caree Carneiro, of the Class of ’17, told her fellow students.

As the students walked, HNHS marketing director Dallas Nelson wrote in an email, “…we heard plenty of car horns honking in solidarity, drew several people out of their houses to cheer us on and saw a number of Hillcrest students run to the fence and cheer us on. One jogger even joined our march!

“By the time we came back to campus, the mood was noticeably different. There were even glints of optimism and faith that we will all be able to move forward as one country so long as we make our voices heard,” he said.