California bishops unify to request Masses for Floyd

STOCKTON — On Tuesday, the California Conference of Bishops will request that their priests offer a votive Mass for George Floyd. Masses will take place throughout dioceses in California to honor Floyd and call for justice and peace.

In place of a sermon, priests are asked to take 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the same amount of time as a police officer pushed his knee into Floyd’s neck.

The unified response from the California Conference of Bishops will not stop after the date of Floyd’s funeral. The conference will release a Stations of the Cross video on June 17, which is also the fifth anniversary of the Charleston, S.C. massacre. The Stations of the Cross represents Jesus’ path to crucifixion and is accompanied by prayers.

Prayers in this particular Stations of the Cross will be for the end of racism in social structures and institutions. Following that, the Bishops will implement a unified educational plan to combat racism.

“This three step, unified plan is intended to acknowledge the sin of racism and to show our support for justice and peace,” says Bishop Myron Cotta. “We hope that this plan continues the conversation of how we can overcome racism.”

CORRECTION

When asked what are her goals for the next 10 years, Liberty Ranch High School graduate Ryv Taylor told the News-Sentinel that she “intends to continue studying biology and medicine so that I may become a pediatrician.” Taylor’s response to post-graduation plans was mistakenly duplicated on Page 21 of the NewsSentinel’s Class of 2020 special section published on June 6.