Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Ill., addresses students, faculty, and social workers during a “teach-in” on fighting racism held Sept. 21, 2017 at The Catholic University of America in Washington. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Posted January 7, 2019

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Black Catholics will sponsor a keynote address by Bishop Edward K. Braxton of the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois.

The presentation is the second in a three-part series developed by the Office for Black Catholics in response to the U.S. bishops’ pastoral initiative against racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love.”

In a pastoral letter approved at its November 2018 meeting, the U.S. bishops’ conference noted that “some may believe that racism is no longer a major affliction of our society … but racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart.”

The lecture will take place on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of St. Joseph at St. Joseph’s University, located at 5600 City Avenue in Philadelphia. The address will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a music prelude.

The series will conclude with a Feb. 25 listening session on racism moderated by Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, which will also take place at St. Joseph’s University.

For more information, contact Father Richard Owens of the Office for Black Catholics at 215-587-3541 or fr.rowens@archphila.org.