Representatives of the U.S. Bishops’ conference (USCCB) have condemned the violent methods of Kenosha rioters and looters, insisting racial justice can only be achieved peacefully.
In a Thursday statement, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee Against Racism, called on Americans to seek racial justice “peacefully” with respect for the inherent dignity of every person.
Citing Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee, who oversees the City of Kenosha, Bishop Fabre said that violence “can never be the means to attain peace and justice.”
“The sins of violence, injustice, racism, and hatred must be purged from our communities with acts of mercy, with the protection and care for the dignity of every human person, with respect for the common good, and with an unwavering pursuit of equality and peace,” he quoted.
In his statement, Bishop Fabre also underscored the implicit racism of the U.S. abortion industry, which overwhelmingly targets blacks.
“We reiterate the value of those whose human life and dignity in this country are marginalized through racism and our need to fight for them including the unborn,” he said.
America’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has continued targeting minority communities in line with the original racist aims of the organization.
Shortly before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a group of prominent black Christian clergy and intellectuals wrote an “open letter” to Democrat Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, denouncing her complicity in America’s abortion crisis, which they said has had a “catastrophic impact” on the black community.
“Black babies are dying at terrifying rates,” stated the 26 black leaders, including eight bishops. “Don’t black lives matter?”
In their letter, the leaders noted that the rate of abortion among blacks is far higher than among whites, with “365 black babies aborted for every 1,000 that are born.”
“Blacks account for roughly 38% of all abortions in the country though we represent only 13% of the population,” they said, citing statistics that have led black Christian leaders to speak of a “black genocide” occurring at the hands of abortionists.
By functional standards, abortion is the most racist institution in the United States. Among white women, there are 138 abortions for every 1000 live births; among blacks, there are 501 abortions for every 1000 births. This means that blacks are aborted at 3.6 times the rate of whites.
In his statement Thursday, Bishop Fabre commented on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech, whose 57th anniversary falls on Friday, August 28.
“On this Friday’s anniversary, in the midst of our country’s ongoing racial unrest, we restate our commitment to peacefully seeking racial justice,” the bishop said.
He also proposed that people of faith engage in prayer and fasting to end the violence as well as racial injustice.
“Considering the violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and in other cities across the nation, we urge all people of faith to observe August 28 or the Feast of St. Peter Claver on September 9 as a day of fasting and prayer,” he said.
“We must continue to engage the battle against the current evils of our society and in the words of Dr. King, refuse to believe ‘that the bank of justice is bankrupt,’” he said. “Dr. King’s dream, as he himself said, is deeply rooted in the American Dream. Let us not forget the price that he and so many courageous witnesses of all faiths and creeds paid to bring us to this moment.”