Race relations

The Latest

Amid racial tensions, US bishops search for healing and peace

Nov 15, 2016

Race relations, racism, and violence were on the mind of the United States bishops during their fall general assembly in... Read more

The role of Catholics in fighting police aggression

Oct 18, 2016

By Adelaide Mena

C. Matthew Hawkins stood frozen with fear as the update crackled through the police car radio: the suspect in question... Read more

Police officer on I-85 during protests following the death of a man shot by police in Charlotte, NC on Sept. 21, 2016.

What a Charlotte priest will tell his flock after a fatal police shooting

Sep 23, 2016

By Kevin J. Jones

Father Patrick Winslow is a priest at a Catholic church in Charlotte’s University City neighborhood.    Read more

How Baltimore's Catholics are still working to heal their communities

Aug 12, 2016

By Matt Hadro

After the Justice Department issued a scathing rebuke of Baltimore’s policing abuses, local Catholic leaders maintained it must be a... Read more

Racial tensions spark day of prayer, peace task force with US bishops

Jul 23, 2016

After several shootings and increased racial tensions around the country, the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops... Read more

Memorial for the three police officers who were shot and killed in an ambush on July 18, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Only Christ offers answers in our violent world, Baton Rouge bishop says

Jul 18, 2016

Jesus Christ’s triumph over death, despair and hate should move us forward after a deadly attack on law enforcement officers... Read more

Gloria Purvis. Courtesy of National Black Catholic Congress.

What's missing from the national conversation on race, violence, and lethal force? You.

Jul 14, 2016

In the wake of last week’s horrific deaths of Dallas police officers Brent Thompson, Lorne Ahrens, Michael Krol, Michael Smith,... Read more

A prayer vigil in Dallas for the injured and killed policemen in a July 8 attack in Dallas.

Be healers in a hurting world, Catholic bishops say after shootings

Jul 8, 2016

Amid tensions following two high profile police shootings of African-Americans and the subsequent killing of police in Dallas, Catholic bishops... Read more

Activisits hold hands during rally lead by faith leaders in front of Baltimore City Hall on May 3, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.

How the US bishops believe America can overcome racial violence

Jun 16, 2015

The head of the U.S. bishops’ conference pledged support for reconciliation and healing efforts in areas around the country that... Read more

People hold hands during a rally lead by faith leaders in front of Baltimore City Hall on May 3, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.

For Catholics in West Baltimore, the only answer to violence is community

May 5, 2015

By Adelaide Mena, Matt Hadro

After unrest erupted in Baltimore following the death of 25 year-old Freddie Gray, Catholics stepped up to restore their communities... Read more

Protests in Baltimore after man died while in police custody. April 28, 2015.

Baltimore archbishop: With God, a broken city can heal

Apr 29, 2015

By Kevin J. Jones

After both peaceful protests and violent riots following the death of an African American man in the custody of the... Read more

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech during the Aug. 28, 1963 march on Washington DC.

The fight for human dignity - how MLK speaks to ISIS, abortion

Jan 19, 2015

By Matt Hadro

The ongoing legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is that every human life is sacred and must be protected... Read more

Police and protesters await the grand jury announcement in the Michael Brown case Nov. 24, 2014 in Ferguson, MO.

What the Church can do about the powder keg of US racial tensions

Nov 26, 2014

By Matt Hadro

Beneath the ongoing unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, are deep-rooted societal conflicts that are boiling over, say local leaders, and the... Read more

Protestors held candles as they shouted hands up during a protest in Ferguson.

Reject 'false hope' of violence, archbishop implores after Ferguson ruling

Nov 25, 2014

By Matt Hadro

The Archbishop of St. Louis rejected violent responses to a grand jury’s decision not to indict a Ferguson police officer... Read more