Anti-Racism work is pastoral work – therefore, much of the work towards equity, dignity and justice can be found in the Catholic Faith and Mission Effectiveness areas of this website. This page is for resources tied to work being done in our Seattle Archdiocese in the Chancery, in subcommittees, through faith leadership, and onsite in our Catholic schools. This list is not exhaustive nor is it inclusive of all the work being done throughout our school deaneries. However, this is a start for any school looking to start the conversations about how to integrate equity work into Catholic Social Teaching and the mission of their academic programs.
Resources from the USCCB and Catholic Church Leaders:
Archdiocese of Seattle Racial Justice and Cultural Diversity website
USCCB Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism
Faith Formation Online Resources for Anti-Racist Work
Open Wide Our Hearts Pastoral Letter
Archbishop Etienne’s Letter “A Call to Address Racism” 2020
Father Bryan Massingale Rebukes Racial Injustice in Church and in Society
Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis.”
Resources for School Leaders:
Catholic Social Teaching is Not Critical Race Theory PPT
Practical Steps for Eradicating Racism – An Invitation
Resources for Teachers:
Making it Meaningful: Interrupting Biased Comments in the Classroom (adl.org)
Courageous Conversations Protocol – Engaging in Meaningful Talks with Students and Staff
An article on CRT in Catholic and Jesuit schools that refers to the usefulness of Catholic Social Teaching and Gaudium et Spes
In addition, here are some starting points for supporting the good work that our Catholic leaders have been advocating for years:
- Curated excerpts from Papal Encyclical Letters and statements from the U.S. Catholic Bishops over the past decades on the injustice and “sin” race and racism (including systemic and structural racism). There are clickable links to the entire encyclical/statement below the excerpts: https://www.cctwincities.org/education-advocacy/catholic-social-teaching/notable-quotations/racism-inclusion-and-diversity/
- “Justice in the World” by the Synod of Bishops where the church taught explicitly that sin and evil manifest themselves in social structures (contrary to arguments that CRT goes against Christian doctrine because it disregards individual accountability for racism and instead blames the “structure”).
Resources from Catholic education partners:
University of Portland – Recommendations and Resources for Racial Equity in Education