Photos of the Week: Aftermath of U.S. mass shootings, Vesak commemorations

By Kit Doyle · May 20, 2022
 (RNS) — Each week Religion News Service presents a gallery of photos of religious expression around the world. This week’s photo gallery includes the aftermath of two mass shootings in the United States, Vesak commemorations for Buddhists and more. A person prays during a service at the Antioch Baptist Church on Thursday, May 19, 2022, days after a shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store that killed 10. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex) People pray outside the scene of Saturday's shooting at a supermarket, in Buffalo, N.Y., Sunday, May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The daughters of Ruth Whitfield, a victim of shooting at a supermarket, Angela Crawley, left, and Robin Harris, hold hands during a news conference in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, May 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) People pay their respects outside the scene of a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., Sunday, May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Nepalese men prepare to hang prayer flags offered by devotees during Buddha Jayanti, or Buddha Purnima festival, in Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, May 16, 2022. The festival marks key events of Gautam Buddha's life: his birth, his enlightenment and his attaining a state of Nirvana that frees believers from the circle of death and rebirth. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Buddhist monks enter a temple in procession to offer prayers during Buddha Purnima festival in Kolkata, India, Monday, May 16, 2022. The festival marks Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Buddhist devotees visit Shwedagon pagoda during the Full Moon day of Kasone, also known as Vesak or Buddha's birthday, in Yangon, Myanmar Saturday, May 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) A Buddhist monk blesses devotees as they pray at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple on Vesak in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Brickfields in Malaysia, Sunday, May 15, 2022. Vesak, one of the holiest days for Buddhists, offers an opportunity for all followers to come together and celebrate not only Buddha's birthday, but also his enlightenment and achievement of Nirvana. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) FILE - Flowers at Geneva Presbyterian Church on May 17, 2022, in Laguna Woods, Calif., where a shooting at the church on Sunday left one dead and five injured. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, FILE) Gabe Kipers, a neighbor of Dr. John Cheng, kneels at a memorial for him outside his office building on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Aliso Viejo, California. Cheng, 52, was killed in Sunday's shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Jason Aguilar, left, a senior pastor at Arise Church, comforts Billy Chang, a pastor who survived Sunday's shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church, during a prayer vigil in Irvine, California, Monday, May 16, 2022. Authorities say a Chinese-born gunman was motivated by hatred of Taiwan when he chained shut the church doors and opened fire on a gathering of mainly of elderly Taiwanese parishioners. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Members of the Tibetan Women's Association participate in a protest demanding the release of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. The boy lama, who is the second highest ranking religious leader in Tibetan Buddhism, went missing shortly after his recognition by the Dalai Lama in 1995 and has not been seen since. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Shinto priestesses called "miko" participate in a ceremonial rite at a biennial festival called "Kanda Matsuri" at Kanda shrine Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Tokyo. The festival, dedicated to the happiness of shrine parishioners and the safety of Japan, was once supported by the Tokugawa shogunate in the 17th century. It is considered by some as one of the three most important Shinto festivals. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Reader Photos Representatives from the three major Buddhist traditions join Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, center, in a White House Vesak ceremony, May 16, 2022, in Washington. Photo courtesy The International Buddhist Association of America Representatives from the three major Buddhist traditions participate in a White House Vesak ceremony on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Washington. Photo courtesy the International Buddhist Association of America. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff lights a candle at the White House Vesak ceremony on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Washington. Photo courtesy the International Buddhist Association of America. The Rev. Danilo Cortez preaches at Towne View Baptist Church to close out the "Q Christian Fellowship" Parents Summit on May 15, 2022, in Kennesaw, Georgia. Photo by Jeremy Hall Mercy Sister Rosemary Jeffries, fourth from left, joins African sisters representing 200 congregations of religious women in six sub-Saharan countries as they prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the All Africa Conference: Sister-to-Sister, May 13, 2022, in Lilongwe, Malawi. AAC:SS seeks to empower African religious women to build healthy communities in their outreach to others. Photo courtesy AAC:SS
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