SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020
MEDIA ALERT
ROCKFORD—Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rockford, Most Rev. David J. Malloy today issued a statement to the people and parishes in the 11-county diocese. The statement addresses the protests and violence in response to the tragic death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
BISHOP MALLOY’S STATEMENT:
The Bishops of the United States have issued a statement in Wake of Death of George Floyd and National Protests that have followed. In that statement they state forcefully, “This is the latest wake-up call that needs to be answered by each of us in a spirit of determined conversion. Racism is not a thing of the past or simply a throwaway political issue to be bandied about when convenient. It is a real and present danger that must be met head on. … We plead for an end to the violence in the wake of this tragedy and for the victims of the rioting.” (For the full statement http://www.usccb.org/news/2020/20-83.cfm)
I join myself to the entirety of the statement of the Bishops. Racial injustice and the hatred and anger that ensue have for too long been a part of our society. Based in faith and in our shared humanity we must come to see each other as bearing the dignity that flows from being made in God’s image and likeness.
I ask that we all pray for peace, healing and an end to violence in this difficult moment. May we also receive the grace in our own hearts to overcome once and for all any sense of racial hatred or division so that we might become the people and nation that God has made us to be.