Scores of religious and civil rights organizations have asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to request an evaluation by a U.N. expert of the scope of racism in the country, according to a report from Adelle M. Banks of Religion News Service.
“We are deeply concerned by credible reports indicating a frightening resurgence in white supremacy,” reads the letter released March 21 by the National Council of Churches. This resurgence, the letter continues, “has led to a rise in racism and hate crimes against racial, ethnic, and religious minority communities both in the US and abroad as evidenced by the recent horrific and unspeakable mass murder in New Zealand.”
The more than 80 signatories include religious organizations such as the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, a Catholic organization; and the Union for Reform Judaism.
Catholic signatories include: the Conference of Superiors of Men, the Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and Network (the Catholic social justice lobby).
Following the violence that erupted at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference created a task force to address racism — in the nation and in the church.
“Recent events have exposed the extent to which the sin of racism continues to inflict our nation,” Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said at that time.
In November 2018, the conference promulgate a pastoral letter on racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love.” The letter calls racism an “ugly cancer [that] still infects our nation.” It also condemns the rise of anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim sentiment and xenophobia.
The letter from religious groups to Pompeo cites research by the Southern Poverty Law Center that found that hate groups have increased 30 percent over the past four years and grew 7 percent from 2017 to 2018.
“We are equally concerned about the rise of misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and anti-immigrant sentiments which have continued to escalate across the United States since the last U.S. presidential election,” the letter from the religious groups said.
According to Banks’ reporting, a State Department spokesperson could not confirm receipt of the letter but said, “All correspondence to the Department is reviewed and responded to appropriately.”
Dennis Coday 