Joining houses of worship across the country in standing together against antisemitism and all faith-based hate, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., participated in Stand Up Sunday on Oct. 18, 2026.
The Stand Up Sunday initiative is led by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation and the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, and people attending the Mass were handed Blue Square pins as a symbol of unity in the fight against hatred toward Jews and all people of faith.
“This year there are over 100 churches across the United States coming together of all different faiths. We have Jewish synagogues, we have mosques, we have Hindu temples, Protestant churches. And we’re all coming together simply to say that we do not adhere to anything that calls for a hatred of someone celebrating their faith,” said Msgr. Charles Antonicelli, the main celebrant and homilist at the Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral who emphasized the importance of the Stand Up Sunday effort.
Msgr. Antonicelli – the Judicial Vicar and Episcopal Vicar for Apostolic Witness for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington – noted that he was speaking about the initiative on behalf of Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the archbishop of Washington.
“We are participating in a nationwide effort to raise awareness of hatred of religion and violence against people who practice their religion,” Msgr. Antonicelli said.
According to the initiative’s organizers, Stand Up Sunday drew the participation of a faith-based coalition representing more than 2 million Americans who stood together united in faith and united against hate. Participants included the Catholic archdioceses of Washington, New York and Boston, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and numerous African Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, Evangelical and non-denominational Christian congregations.
In his homily, Msgr. Antonicelli noted the growing instances of antisemitism and other faith-based hatred and violence across the United States and around the world.
“Today’s readings help us to realize that there is one God, and that we are all children of the same God, even if we raise our voices in different ways to that God. And we know that we believe in the Catholic tradition that all people are made in the image and likeness of God and deserve a certain respect and care,” Msgr. Antonicelli said, adding, “And that is what we are simply proclaiming this day, that we stand against antisemitism which we see growing in our United States and throughout Europe, something that is horrible, and Islamophobia, people making fun or doing harm, damage (or) violence against our Muslim brothers and sisters.”
A press release from the Blue Square Alliance and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation noted that Stand Up Sunday comes amid escalating antisemitism and faith-based hate:
- Between 2015 and 2024, religious-based hate crimes in the U.S. increased 136%, while antisemitism incidents rose nearly 900% over the same period of time. Since 2021 alone, the number of religious-based hate crimes has nearly doubled.
- The FBI's 2025 crime statistics show a record high number of hate crimes against Jewish people, accounting for 63 percent of all religious-based hate crimes.
Reflecting on that day’s Gospel reading from Matthew 22:15-21 where Jesus noted whose image was on a Roman coin and said, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” Msgr. Antonicelli said that Jesus “teaches us to be respectful of all of God’s creation. That is how we give honor to God, and we give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, by living in a community of people here in the United States of differing backgrounds, of different faiths, but all united in the hope that we can at least respect one another and respect the human dignity of each person. And so we are raising our voices today on behalf of this principle.”
The press release for Stand Up Sunday quoted leaders of the initiative’s organizers in emphasizing the importance of that effort.
“Amid rising hate and division, Stand Up Sunday serves as a critical reminder: we are strongest when we stand united,” said Adam Katz, President of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. "By coming together behind the Blue Square, leaders from all faiths are sending a clear message that bigotry and intolerance have no place in our society. In an era when division threatens the fabric of our nation, this movement shows the strength we find when we unite across our differences, and demonstrates that our common humanity is stronger than the forces that divide us.”
That point was underscored by Karen Dresbach, the executive vice president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, who said, “On Oct. 18, as millions of people of faith gather for Stand Up Sunday nationwide, we are united in faith and united against hate. Our collective voices will resonate. We are all God’s children, together we can silence the voices of hate and the perpetrators of violence.”
In his homily, Msgr. Antonicelli also noted how people were handed the Blue Square pins as they entered the cathedral that morning.
“This is a symbol simply to say that we want to stand up against hatred of any kind, that we do not believe that we should have violence against people in their places of worship,” he said.
Concluding his homily, Msgr. Antonicelli said, “We thank God that we live in a country that does allow us to express our faith freely. And we ask that we continue to be able to do that, and to love one another, love our neighbor, even love our enemies as Jesus taught us.”
The Washington, D.C., area has witnessed antisemitic violence and acts of hate in recent years, including in May 2025, when two Israeli Embassy staff members were slain outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Cardinal Robert W. McElroy decried that attack as “an act of antisemitic hatred and murder.”
In a statement issued after those murders, Cardinal McElroy said, ““The Catholic community of Washington and Maryland stands in prayer, shock and solidarity with the families of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, with the people of Israel and with the entire Jewish community which has been attacked in this act of antisemitic hatred and murder. That these heinous killings took place against the backdrop of the Capital Jewish Museum, which is both a sign of the rich blessings that the Jewish community has continually provided to our nation and a call to unity in our society, is a further assault upon our social fabric and the love that is the plan and gift of the God who is Father of us all. Let us profoundly deepen our prayers and our commitment to root out hate in our midst whenever and wherever it surfaces.”
Washington has also been the scene of the desecration of Catholic statues in recent years. In February 2024, the face of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was heavily damaged on the north lawn of the basilica grounds, in an area known as Mary's Garden. In December 2021, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, an image of the Virgin Mary located in the Rosary Walk and Garden across Harewood Road from the basilica, was also vandalized.
