Five years after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis while he was in police custody sparked national and global calls for racial justice, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington continues its efforts to confront racism as a sin and uphold the dignity of every human person.
In the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, Father Cornelius Ejiogu, pastor of St. Luke Parish in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Josephite order, which has long ministered to the African American community, organized a prayerful march on June 8, 2020.
“I wanted to do a prayerful march that says, ‘Enough of the killings, enough of the racial profiling, enough of the discrimination, enough of the use of excessive force, the way Black people have been policed in this country,’” Father Ejiogu said.
The peaceful procession included about 40 to 50 priests and deacons, along with more than 200 Catholics, including laypeople and women religious. Police officers were also seen praying alongside participants as they marched past the White House toward the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“I personally work with tremendous police officers who would lay down their lives for me,” Father Ejiogu said. “But reform is needed to prevent bad police officers from discrediting the uniform they wear. We prayed for good police officers and good policing.”
Since that moment of public prayer, the archdiocese has engaged in ongoing pastoral and educational work to address racism as part of its mission. In 2020, the archdiocese launched the “Made in God’s Image: Pray and Work to End Racism” initiative, grounded in the understanding that every person is made in God’s image and likeness. The initiative offers resources, events, and guidance for parishes, schools and ministries to engage in prayer, dialogue, education, and action.
Wendi Williams, executive director of the archdiocese's Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach, said the initiative has served as both a “prophetic witness and a practical instrument of healing.”
“We have supported many parishes with the development of multicultural and diversity ministries, which have been instrumental in implementing parish-level programs that support the faithful and broader communities,” she said. “Creating safe spaces for dialogue and listening sessions has been particularly important and, I think, helpful.”
The archdiocese has also provided educational resources, book studies, and virtual town halls to help Catholics better understand the history and ongoing reality of racism in society and the Church.
“Catholics who may not know where to begin with racial justice work should reach out to their parish to learn more about parish-level activities,” Williams said. “The parish offers primacy, purpose, and opportunity to have direct impact in a person’s community.”
Father Patrick Smith, the pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Washington, the mother church of Black Catholics in the nation’s capital, emphasized that confronting racism requires both personal and collective repentance.
“Christianity 101 begins with a call to repentance,” he said. “We acknowledge our past sins and failures precisely in order to be delivered from them. If we are not willing to do this, deliverance never comes.”
Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., president of the National Black Catholic Congress, reflected on Floyd’s death as a moment demanding both justice and conversion of hearts. In a 2020 statement following Floyd’s death, Bishop Campbell wrote, “When any person is unjustly deprived of their God-given right to life, we must all stand up to say this is wrong. We are called to work to ensure that all people are treated equally, with justice and dignity. This requires an interior conversion of our own hearts to acknowledge the sin of racism and to work to eliminate its structures from our society.”
Father Smith compared racism to an aggressive cancer that persists across generations and resists eradication. He urged Catholics to approach the issue not as a partisan debate but as a matter of human dignity and Christian witness.
“Our loyalty to the mission of the Gospel and the proclamation of the truth must always be first and foremost,” he said. “Loyalty to Christ must always upstage loyalty to one’s political leanings or party affiliation.”
In a 2021 interview, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, then the archbishop of Washington, reflected on the Church’s responsibility to speak against racism with clarity and consistency.
“We have to continue to address it, and we have to continue to do so unapologetically, firmly, but always with great respect and affection for the people that we're trying to convert,” Cardinal Gregory, now the archbishop emeritus of Washington, said at the time. “And I do believe that the vast majority of people want to see this evil brought under control and eventually eradicated.”
While much work remains, Church leaders across the archdiocese recognize that the path forward requires both truth-telling and hope.
“We must confront our own prejudices and culpable ignorance,” Father Smith said. “We are not only called to not be afraid of truth, but to worship it; praise it; fall in love with it – with Jesus.”
The archdiocese’s ongoing commitment to this work echoes the words of its “Made in God’s Image” initiative: “We are one family of faith – beloved children of God – united in our commitment to pray and work for an end to racism.”
