Black Catholics urge prayer, change after Floyd killing and riots

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Philadelphia, Pa., Jun 2, 2020 / 03:08 pm (CNA).- The killing of George Floyd and the protests it has sparked represent a defining moment for the Catholic Church, according to Black Catholics throughout the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

“I’m looking to my community to accompany us,” said Sabrina Carter, a 24-year-old nonprofit marketing professional and member of St. Athanasius Parish in Philadelphia’s West Oak Lane section. “I’m leaning on fellow Catholics, all the way up to the pope, because I know what they can do; I’ve seen their potential to effect change.”

Father Stephen Thorne, pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish in North Philadelphia, said that Floyd’s death and the outrage it has unleashed “(bring) home the issue that we have to see each other as fellow human beings, with the dignity of God’s children.”

“The (U.S.) bishops are very clear about being informed, speaking out and being intentional in our encounters with one another,” said Father Thorne.

Floyd died May 25 while under Minneapolis police restraint, just days after Georgia resident Ahmaud Arbery was fatally shot by a former police officer and his son. On March 13, Kentucky EMT worker Breonna Taylor was killed in her home by police serving a search warrant for drugs; none were found in her apartment.

A number of those interviewed by CatholicPhilly said that the Floyd, Arbery and Taylor deaths — along with the police-related killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in 2014 — underscore the systemic racism decried by the U.S. bishops in a 2018 pastoral letter.

“If it seems like only one incident started this, then you’re missing a lot regarding what the whole African-American community has been dealing with,” said Carter.

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Black Catholics urge prayer, change after Floyd killing and riots