USCCB resources available to combat racism

The document Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism was developed by the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It was approved by the full body of bishops as a formal statement of the same at its November 2018 General Meeting and has been authorized for publication by Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, General Secretary, USCCB.

Quotes from Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City State. Used with permission. All rights reserved.   Scripture excerpts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition, copyright © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.   Copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved.  

Holy Scripture boldly proclaims, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are” (1 Jn 3:1). This love “comes from God and unites us to God; through this unifying process it makes us a ‘we’ which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is ‘all in all’ (1 Cor 15:28).” 1 By the work of the Holy Spirit, the Church is called to share with all the world this gift of love. As Pope Francis points out, “The salvation which God has wrought, and the Church joyfully proclaims, is for everyone. God has found a way to unite himself to every human being in every age.”2 Through his Cross and Resurrection, Christ united the one human race to the Father. However, even though Christ’s victory over sin and death is complete, we still live in a world affected by them. As bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, we want to address one particularly destructive and persistent form of evil. Despite many promising strides made in our country, racism still infects our nation.  

What Is Racism?
Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39).  

Racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that, because all humans share a common origin, they are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and—all too often—hatred. Cain forgets this truth in his hatred of his brother. Recall the words in the First Letter of John: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him” (1 Jn 3:15). Racism shares in the same evil that moved Cain to kill his brother. It arises from suppressing the truth that his brother Abel was also created in the image of God, a human equal to himself. Every racist act—every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity, or place of origin—is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God. In these and in many other such acts, the sin of racism persists in our lives, in our country, and in our world. 

See full Pastoral Letter Against Racism:  Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism | Abramos nuestros corazones: El incesante llamado al amor – Carta pastoral contra el racismo

Other resources are available on the USCCB website:

Prayer Against Racism

• Prayer Card English | Prayer Card Spanish
• Social Media Graphic English | Social Media Graphic Spanish

Everyone Belongs. . . children's book on the reality of racism and our Catholic response 

Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - Study Guide

St. Peter Claver Prayer Service 2019 I Printable Version

Mass Formulary-St. Peter Claver 2019 I Printable Version

The USCCB, the Catholic Mobilizing Network, the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), the United States Catholic Mission Association recently hosted a webinar. . . .full of ideas for implementing the call of "Open Wide Our Hearts" in your community.

Catholic Mobilizing Network. . . recently released a new short video. . . in honor of Black History Month highlighting 5 important lessons from the USCCB's recent pastoral letter against racism, "Open Wide Our Hearts: the Enduring Call to Love."

Purchase print copies from the USCCB Store!

Check out the educational resources and parish resources that were created to accompany the pastoral letter against racism.