Lay consultants to the committee will be announced later this week, Murry said.
The Charlottesville violence came after months of heightened racial tensions in the United States, and demonstrations across the country. The committee was formed to respond to this developing social tension, the USCCB noted
The committee will explore ways the Church can address the root causes of contemporary manifestations of racism, the conference said. The bishops will also hold public conversations about racism and race-related problems.
The committee will collaborate with the Knights of Columbus to combat racism and violence, he added. The Knights, he said, "have been a consistent voice for racial equality since they were created."
The goal of collaboration is "to try to help people to experience a change of heart, and to recognize every human being is created in the image and likeness of God."
Although some protests in recent years turned violent – like riots in Baltimore in 2015 after the death of Freddie Gray – many demonstrations have been non-violent, and many parishes have worked admirably to address the problem of racism, Murry said.
He pointed to St. Peter Claver Parish in West Baltimore, Md., St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Springfield, Ill., and Holy Trinity Parish in Dallas, Tex. as examples of Catholics "coming together to address these issues frankly and to find solutions in a non-violent way."
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.