The U.S. bishops have spoken out prominently about racial tensions, holding a Day of Prayer for Peace on Sept. 9 and announcing that a new pastoral letter on racism is in the works.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, created a task force in July to investigate what dioceses could better do to heal racial tensions and address problems plaguing certain communities. He did so after protests in several cities occurred over incidents of young black men being shot by police officers, as well as nationwide horror after a retaliatory killing of five police officers in Dallas.
Archbishop Kurtz condemned the violence while also calling attention to the serious problems many urban communities face, including drug abuse, unemployment, and lack of access to quality education and affordable housing.
Last week, riots broke out in Charlotte, N.C. and protests in Tulsa, Okla. after the deaths of young black men in those cities in dealing with the police.
When asked how they would, as president, work to heal racial tensions, Clinton discussed the various problems affecting minority communities like gun violence, housing, education, and "the systemic racism in our criminal justice system," while Trump focused more on gun laws and the importance of "law and order."
"Unfortunately, race still determines too much, often determines where people live, determines what kind of education in their public schools they can get, and, yes, it determines how they're treated in the criminal justice system," Clinton said.
She also praised the positive aspects of many of these communities, "the vibrancy of the black church, the black businesses that employ so many people, the opportunities that so many families are working to provide for their kids."
Another subject that was absent from Monday's conversation was the issue of abortion, despite a recent Knights of Columbus/Marist poll showing that almost two-thirds of Americans want Hyde Amendment protections so taxpayers don't directly fund abortions, and 60 percent of respondents saying abortion should be limited to the first trimester at most.
Kellyanne Conway, a pollster who is now campaign manager for Trump, wished the life issue has been asked about by the moderator so that "Americans should know that Hillary Clinton is for late-term abortion."
When pressed that many pro-life voters still have serious concerns about Trump's commitment to the pro-life cause given his statements in the past, Conway said "they shouldn't have those concerns," pointing to Trump's present support for the pro-life cause and his pledges to major pro-life legislative goals like a late-term abortion ban and to "make permanent the Hyde Amendment."
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.