George Floyd<\/a>, Bishop Boxie received an unexpected Facebook message from the former seminarian.<\/p>\nBy then, the man was working at a Catholic school with many Black and Hispanic students. He told Bishop Boxie that he had come to understand how wrong it had been to display the Confederate flag, particularly in a seminary.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to have a conversation, to apologize,\u201d the bishop said. \u201cI accepted his apology, and we had a real, honest conversation about race, the Church, and how we can be healers,\u00a0how we can help bridge these gaps, these disparities, the misunderstanding, all the things that pull us apart,\u00a0how we can in fact be healers and bridge-builders in the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church in the United States has its own history of involvement with slavery and racial discrimination.<\/p>\n
In 1838, Jesuit leaders sold 272 enslaved men, women and children to raise money for Georgetown University, which was then struggling financially. The sale became the subject of renewed public scrutiny after reporting by The New York Times in 2016.<\/p>\n
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said the racism he encountered while studying at Conception Seminary College in Missouri contributed to his decision to leave. Thomas has recalled hearing a fellow seminarian respond to the 1968 shooting of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. by saying, \u201cGood \u2014 I hope the S.O.B. dies.\u201d<\/p>\n
At an appearance at The Catholic University of America last year, Thomas said that if Catholic leaders at the time had taken a stronger stand against racism, he might have become a priest.<\/p>\n
More recent disputes over police brutality and systemic racism have also exposed divisions among U.S. Catholics.<\/p>\n
In 2020, EWTN canceled its radio show \u201cMorning Glory\u201d months after co-host Gloria Purvis began speaking extensively about police brutality and systemic racism following Floyd\u2019s death and the protests that followed.<\/p>\n
Purvis, who is Black, told CNS after the cancellation that Catholics should be turning to their faith when confronting such questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all are members of the human family. We all have a certain dignity,\u201d she said in January 2021. \u201cWhen you see such brutalization of a human person and the murder of a human person \u2026 it should bring questions to us. We should be turning to our faith for answers rather than just letting political talk frame the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she was surprised to hear Catholics dismiss concern about Floyd\u2019s death after learning details about his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not who we are as believers,\u201d Purvis said.<\/p>\n
Purvis told CNS in May 2021 that she had no regrets talking about race during her EWTN tenure, which was largely suspected to be the reason for her show\u2019s cancellation.<\/p>\n
In the months and years after Floyd\u2019s death, Purvis, who is now a special advisor for Integral Human Development and Dignity at Providence College, told OSV News in May 2025 that priests have preached \u201cahistorical homilies about lynching, about saying that Black people needed to be grateful to white people that lost their lives during the Civil War.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polling over the last several years has found a pronounced divide between white Catholics and other Americans in how they understand racial inequality.<\/p>\n
In a 2018 Public Religion Research Institute survey, 53% of Americans said police killings of Black men were part of a broader pattern in how law enforcement treats Black Americans. Among white Catholics, just 37% held that view.<\/p>\n
A similar divide appeared in a 2022 PRRI survey about the lasting effects of slavery and racial discrimination. Just 35% of white Catholics agreed that those historical injustices continue to make it harder for Black Americans to achieve economic mobility. By comparison, 66% of religiously unaffiliated Americans, 68% of Americans belonging to non-Christian religions and 77% of Black Protestants agreed.<\/p>\n
Bishop Boxie said he does not know why some racial tensions within the Church have gone unaddressed for so long, but said he looks to the Holy Spirit and expressed gratitude for Pope Leo\u2019s apology in his recent encyclical \u201cMagnifica Humanitas\u201d\u00a0for the church\u2019s historical involvement in slavery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really earth-shattering,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the first time in what, 18 centuries, 19 centuries, that this acknowledgement has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Leo\u2019s own heritage depicts the racial tension of American history. He told reporters in July about his familial ties to U.S. slavery when he said his ancestors included both enslaved people and slave owners on his mother\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
Bishop Boxie said Black Catholics themselves can also do more to address what he called \u201cthe elephant in the room,\u201d including inconsistencies between politics, government, racism and\u00a0 Catholic social teaching.<\/p>\n
He also wants Catholic churches to more visibly reflect the racial diversity of the communion of saints.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our churches, we often only see white saints, and I have no problem with that. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not the only view or the only image or icon of holiness that we can aspire to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Boxie said every U.S. parish should display images of Black saints, particularly the seven Black Catholics being considered for canonization, as a reminder that their witness belongs to the entire church and \u201cbecause these were Americans who were raised and formed in this country,\u201d and whose lives were marked by racism, exclusion and discrimination.<\/p>\n
Their example can encourage Black Catholics \u201cto persevere, to not give up, to stay in the church and to help reform it,\u201d while reminding white Catholics that \u201cthey\u2019re part of our Church. They are us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conflict and confrontation are not his style, Bishop Boxie said. He is more interested in dialogue and in helping white Catholics recognize that Black Catholics are part of the church, have something distinctive to contribute to its life and worship, and that \u201cyou don\u2019t have to be afraid of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the pope\u2019s apology for the Church\u2019s involvement in slavery in his encyclical, Bishop Boxie said Pope Leo has given the Church and the world a moment to \u201ctackle it, to talk about it, to not shy away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s equaling the playing field for us to take the ball and to move it forward, not only in the Church, but also in our nation, because the terrible things that happened in our country spilled over, unfortunately, into practices in the church as well,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think this is really an opportunity for us as Catholics, to lead the way, really for us to lead the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\nkabarsula SLOT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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