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Pope Francis on George Floyd: Cannot Tolerate or Turn a Blind Eye to Racism

BY ISN STAFF | June 3, 2020

During his weekly general audience this morning, Pope Francis addressed the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.

After his general greeting he offered the following message to the people of the United States:

seitz-black-lives

Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz joined faith leaders in El Paso, Texas, on Monday, June 1 to commemorate the life of George Floyd and pray for an end to racism. [Source: Andreas Lopez, Facebook]

I greet the English-speaking faithful joining us through the media.

Dear brothers and sisters in the United States, I have witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest in your nation in these past days, following the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd.

My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life. At the same time, we have to recognize that “the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost”.

Today I join the Church in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and in the entire United States, in praying for the repose of the soul of George Floyd and of all those others who have lost their lives as a result of the sin of racism. Let us pray for the consolation of their grieving families and friends and let us implore the national reconciliation and peace for which we yearn. May Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America, intercede for all those who work for peace and justice in your land and throughout the world.

May God bless all of you and your families.

[Vatican]

2 replies
  1. Bruce Weaver
    Bruce Weaver says:

    Sometimes the truth has to be inconvenient and a bit disruptive of our normal routine to lead to change.

    Reply

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