The AD Hoc Committee against Racism, established in 2017 by the former president of the United States Catholic Bishop Conference (USCCB), Cardinal Daniel Dinardo de Galveston-Houston, has officially become a permanent organism within the USCCB, according to a September 10 press release.
The recently created permanent subcommittee for the promotion of racial justice and reconciliation “continues the important work of the temporary ad hoc committee,” said USCCB president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio.
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“By asking for a real conversion of the heart that drives change both at the individual and institutional level,” he said, “I invite all Catholics to join us to carry out this work of recognizing and defending the inherent dignity of each person, made in the image and likeness of God,” added the archbishop.
The Administrative Committee of the USCCB approved the transition on September 9, according to the press release, pointing out that the new subcommittee depends “on the National Justice and Human Development Committee.”
The National Justice and Human Development Committee “seeks to teach and testify to the intrinsic dignity of the human person as an antidote against the serious sin of racism” and “explore and implement concrete solutions to address racism that still permeates our society and our Church today, and works collaboratively to strengthen the response of all people to this evil.”
The decision to consolidate the ad hoc committee is part of the “continuous commitment of the bishops of addressing the sin of racism,” says the statement.
The president of the committee, Bishop Joseph Perryalso intervened and declared: “I speak on behalf of the member bishops, the staff and consultants of the ad hoc committee against racism to express gratitude for the transition from our committee to a permanent subcommittee so that the important work of evangelization of the faithful and the community in general can continue in the spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The committee will officially begin to work after the Plenary Assembly of November of this year.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Low Elhabbal
Madalaine Elhabbal is a CNA journalist based in the Washington DC office in EWTN. He has published articles in Catholicvote and has also worked as a foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.