• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Denis J. Madden, left, and Josephite Father Ray P. Bomberger, right, listen as Archbishop William E. Lori addresses a gathering at St. Peter Claver and St. Pius V, prior to a prayer walk for peace in West Baltimore, Sept. 9, 2016. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Archbishop Lori announces statewide Maryland task force on racism

September 27, 2017
By Paul McMullen
Filed Under: Black Catholic Ministry, Feature, Local News, News, Urban Vicariate

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, the chairman of the Maryland Catholic Conference, announced Sept. 27 the creation of a statewide task force on racism.

A news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore described it as “an effort to better improve race relations and to address the sin of racism that continues to be a divisive force in our country.”

The group, which is co-chaired by Bishop Denis J. Madden, auxiliary bishop emeritus and urban vicar of the Baltimore Archdiocese, and Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, held its first meeting in Baltimore Monday.

According to the news release, the workgroup includes leaders from the state’s Catholic African-American and Latino communities, legislators, historians, academic scholars and others who will “bring a diverse perspective to the important work of the task force.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops created a Task Force on Peace and Unity last year in response to heightened racial tensions around the country, including the riots surrounding the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore City.

Archbishop Lori led a prayer for peace at the start of the Baltimore City Council meeting Aug. 14, two days after white supremacists marched on Charlottesville, Va., and a counter-protestor died in the ensuing violence.

A beautiful mural becomes the backdrop for the final stop of a prayer walk for peace at the corner of Leslie and Baker Streets in West Baltimore, Sept. 9, 2016. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“The dreadful spectacle of violence and racism displayed in Charlottesville by various white supremacist groups is a shocking reminder of how much work still needs to be done to eradicate the sin of racism in our country, our state, and our local communities,” Archbishop Lori said in the Sept. 27 press release.

“While many good efforts are ongoing within the Catholic Church here in Maryland, we know that we are far from where we need to be in fostering a truly loving, diverse community where all are welcomed and embraced, regardless of the color of their skin, the language they speak, or their country of origin.”

The task force’s first meeting came the day after several Baltimore Ravens took a knee during the National Anthem of the team’s Sept. 24 game in London, in response to President Donald Trump’s call for the firing of players taking such an action, done originally to protest police brutality. The players, and the team, have since faced a severe backlash from tens of thousands who objected to their protest.

In September 2016, Archbishop Lori joined a march for peace at St. Peter Claver, not far from where Gray sustained injuries while in police custody in April 2015. Two months later, the U.S. bishops’ annual fall assembly in Baltimore included a Mass at the church.

“This effort,” Archbishop Lori said in the Sept. 27 news release, “will require the courage to take an honest look at our past, the humility to repent of the ways we have actively caused pain or turned a deaf ear to those who suffer from the evil of racism, and a firm faith in the power of God’s love as we begin the path to reconciliation.”

The U.S. bishops recently formed an ongoing Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, to which Archbishop Lori has been named a consultor.

Jesuit Bishop George J. Murry, chairman of the committee, said it will “listen to the needs of individuals who have suffered under the sin of racism and together find solutions to this epidemic of hate that has plagued our nation for far too long.”

Local bishops were invited to examine the issue and promote ways of addressing racism in local dioceses.

“We ask for the prayers of Maryland’s Catholic community and all people of good will as we turn to this work with renewed zeal and urgency,” Archbishop Lori said. “May St. Peter Claver inspire and bless our coming together as we journey ever closer toward building the kingdom of God.”

Email Paul McMullen at pmcmullen@CatholicReview.org.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Paul McMullen

Paul McMullen, a resident of Austin, Texas, served as the managing editor of the Catholic Review from 2008 until his retirement in September 2021.

The author of two books, Paul has been involved in local media since age 12, when he began delivering The News American to 80 homes in his neighborhood. He began his journalism career with the Capital-Gazette Newspapers in Anne Arundel County, and spent more than 25 years as a sports writer for The Sun in Baltimore. His favorite writing assignments have included the Summer Olympics in Australia and Greece, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and “Feet for Francis,” a 2015 walking pilgrimage from the Baltimore Basilica to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Assault outside Planned Parenthood office leaves pregnancy center employees shaken
  • Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’
  • ‘God’s Scribe’: Father Breighner retires popular column after more than 50 years
  • Movie Review: ‘Padre Pio’
  • Bishop Victor Galeone, former Archdiocese of Baltimore priest and bishop of St. Augustine, dies at 87

| Latest Local News |

‘God’s Scribe’: Father Breighner retires popular column after more than 50 years

Bishop Victor Galeone, former Archdiocese of Baltimore priest and bishop of St. Augustine, dies at 87

Assault outside Planned Parenthood office leaves pregnancy center employees shaken

| Latest World News |

Nevada’s Catholic governor who campaigned as ‘pro-life’ signs some abortion protections into law

Pope names Cardinal Farrell next head of Vatican City high court

Senate approves House-passed debt ceiling deal, avoiding default

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Nevada’s Catholic governor who campaigned as ‘pro-life’ signs some abortion protections into law
  • Pope names Cardinal Farrell next head of Vatican City high court
  • Senate approves House-passed debt ceiling deal, avoiding default
  • Profit-at-all-costs is not a good business model, pope says
  • Farewell and thank you
  • ‘God’s Scribe’: Father Breighner retires popular column after more than 50 years
  • Expertos esperan avances en salud, discapacidad y ministerio hispano en la reunión de junio de los obispos de EE.UU.
  • Experts hope for progress on health care, disability ministry and Hispanic Catholics at U.S. bishops’ June meeting
  • Movie Review: ‘Padre Pio’

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED