Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, chair of the U.S. bishops' Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, speaks Nov. 13 during the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. (CNS photo/Bob Roller) See stories slugged BISHOPS- Nov. 13, 2017. 
In Brief
Defense of the unborn, racial division and immigration were the prominent topics of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops this week. The Church in the US has at times been a part of the problem of racism despite fighting it for many years, according to one bishop.
Bishop George Murry, head of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said that racism “lives in a particular and pernicious way in our country, in large part because of the experience of the historic evil of slavery”.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the bishops’ conference, made the first address, saying that the nation seemed more “divided than ever”.
He lamented that abortion continues despite the existence of alternatives and that “hospitals and health care workers “deserve conscience protections so they never have to participate in the taking of a human life”.
He also encouraged the enactment of immigration reforms and protections for young migrants.
