Pastoral Letters
Pastoral Letters
Chronology of Pastoral Letters on Racism

Discrimination and Christian Conscience, November 14, 1958
 United States (U.S.) Catholic bishops' statement contained the following quote:
 
"The heart of the race question is moral and religious. It concerns the rights of man and our attitude toward our fellow man. If our attitude is governed by the great Christian law of love of neighbor and respect for his rights, then we can work out harmoniously the techniques for making legal, educational, economic and social adjustments. But if our hearts are poisoned by hatred, or even indifference toward the welfare and rights of our fellow men, then our nation faces a grave internal crisis."

Link to quotes:
https://www.usccb.org/resources/selected-quotes-discimination-and-christian-conscience

On Racial Harmony, August 23, 1963
This is a statement by the Administrative Board, National Catholic Welfare Conference that reaffirmed the U.S. Catholic bishops' official position against racial discrimination and segregation.
 
Link to full content:
https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/african-american/resources/upload/On-Racial-Harmony.pdf

Brothers and Sisters to Us: US Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day, November 14, 1979
"Racism is an evil which endures in our society and in our church. Despite apparent advances and even significant changes in the last two decades, the reality of racism remains. In large part it is only external appearances which have changed."
 
Link to full content:
https://www.usccb.org/committees/african-american-affairs/brothers-and-sisters-us

Reconciled through Christ, 2013
This publication explores the reconciliation and greater collaboration between Hispanic American Catholics and African American Catholics.
 
Link to full content:
https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/upload/reconciled-through-christ-english.pdf
 
We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight: The Church's Response to Racism in the Years Following, 25th Anniversary Executive Summary October 2004

Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, A Pastoral Letter Against Racism, November 14, 2018
This was not the first time the U.S. Bishops had spoken collectively on race issues in the United States, but it was the first time in almost 40 years. In 1979, they approved "Brothers and Sisters to Us: A Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day." Among the many things, they discussed was the fact that "Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.”

Night Will Be No More, October 13, 2019
Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso released this pastoral letter
as a response to racism, xenophobia, hatred, and white supremacy, both in the borderland community and across the nation, particularly as witnessed with the August 3, 2019 massacre at a Walmart in El Paso that left twenty-two dead and many more injured. “Hate visited our community and Latino blood was spilled in sacrifice to the false god of white supremacy,” he wrote in the letter. 
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