A Catholic Witness Against Racism

Equip Catholic institutions with tools drawn from tradition to dismantle racism in actionable ways.

Many Catholic institutions are realizing that they want to make positive changes in areas connected to race and racism. Gathered from the insights of scholars and ministers leading these efforts in the Church and world, A Catholic Witness Against Racism equips Catholic institutions with distinctive tools drawn from Catholic tradition to dismantle racism in actionable ways.

The contributors to A Catholic Witness Against Racism illuminate new ways of thinking and acting about racism through a variety of cultural perspectives that reflect the many experiences of racism in the United States, how to be a better Catholic ally, the role of liturgy and music, fruitful examples of witness and formation (from the role of religious sisters to the development of #BlackCatholicsSyllabus), and more. The thoughtful questions that close each chapter offer practical reflection for those looking to stand as faithful witnesses against racism in parishes, schools, dioceses, and other Catholic institutions. In this engaging volume, readers will discover that the journey towards racial justice, while often frustrating and intense, is good news rooted in God's promise.

Contributors:

Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, DMin – Ansel Augustine, DMin – Maka Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) – Maureen K. Day, PhD
Kim R. Harris, PhD – Linh Hoang, OFM, PhD – Brett C. Hoover, PhD – Daniel P. Horan, PhD
Efran Menny – Maureen O’Connell, PhD – Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD – Bethany J. Welch, SSJ, PhD

Maureen Day, PhD, is a visiting research fellow at Villanova University’s Center for Church Management. She is a research affiliate at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture (USC), the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (USC), and the Las Casas Institute (University of Oxford, Blackfriars). She is an award-winning author, and her books and articles can be found in both Catholic and academic publications, including Catholicism at a Crossroads (NYU Press 2025), Cultural Catholics: Who They Are, How to Respond (Liturgical Press 2024), Catholic Activism Today (NYU Press 2020), and Young Adult American Catholics (Paulist Press 2018). As a sociologist and theologian, she has provided her expertise to the Church at the diocesan, national and international level.

Tia Noelle Pratt, PhD, is a special assistant to the vice president and director of mission engagement and strategic initiatives in the Office for Mission and Ministry, assistant professor of sociology, and editor of the Journal of Catholic Social Thought at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She is the author of Black and Catholic: Racism, Identity, and Religion (University of Notre Dame Press, 2025). A sociologist of religion by training, Dr. Pratt received her PhD in Sociology from Fordham University in 2010.