Racism Attacks Human Life

 “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life” (Pope Francis, Special Greetings following General Audience, Wednesday, June 3, 2020).

In their November 2018 Pastoral Letter Against Racism, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, the U.S. Catholic bishops wrote, “racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that … all [humans are] equally made in the image of God.” As we have seen acutely over this past year, racism fails to acknowledge the dignity with which God creates each person. Racism contributes to a culture of death. The Church in the United States has spoken out consistently against abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other threats to human life; it is not a secret that these attacks severely affect people of color. Following the death of George Floyd, the bishops and Catholic organizations again raised their voices against this attack on human life through public Masses, statements, and calls to prayer.

-Word of Life, September 2020

Read more of Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love