You can not, with any integrity or ability to persuade, say that you are pro life and then turn around in the next breath and deny the basic humanity and essential human dignity of whole groups of people.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, who is our archbishop in the diocese where I live, was one of the seven authors of the USCCB’s statement on the murder of George Floyd that made this clear.
That statement said in part:
Too many communities around this country feel their voices are not being heard, their complaints about racist treatment are unheeded, and we are not doing enough to point out that this deadly treatment is antithetical to the Gospel of Life.
As we said eighteen months ago in our most recent pastoral letter against racism, Open Wide Our Hearts, for people of color some interactions with police can be fraught with fear and even danger. People of good conscience must never turn a blind eye when citizens are being deprived of their human dignity and even their lives. Indifference is not an option. “As bishops, we unequivocally state that racism is a life issue.” (emphasis mine)
Then, in the latest issue of our diocesan newspaper, Archbishop Coakley said,
“We are broken hearted, sickened and outraged to watch another video of an African American man being killed before our very eyes. What’s more astounding is that this is happening within mere weeks of several other such occurrences. This is the latest wake-up call that needs to be answered by each of us in a spirit of determined conversion.”
“Racism is not a thing of the past or simply a throwaway political issue to be bandied about when convenient. It is a real and present danger that must be met head on. As members of the Church, we must stand for the more difficult right and just actions instead of the easy-going wrongs of indifference. We cannot turn a blind eye to the atrocities and yet still try to profess to respect every human life. We serve a God of love, mercy and justice.” (emphasis mine)
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