The following is a statement by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany:
“The dignity of every human person without exception, from conception to natural death, regardless of race, background or status, is rooted not only in the foundations of any civilized society but also in our very existence as children of a loving and merciful God. Racism in any form is an intolerable evil that directly affronts human dignity and enflames destructive passions. Smoldering in the heart as hatred – lest we need reminding – it inevitably erupts into violence, as we have just witnessed graphically at the recent instigation of white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Va. Individuals and associations that endorse racism must be universally and publicly rebuked, lest history repeat itself – or even worse befall us. May our prayers for all who suffer from both individual and systemic racism unite us in a resolve to drive out its cancerous seeds from every human heart and in every corner of our society.”