Archbishops urge police accountability, reform

In the wake of the recent deaths of Black Americans in police custody and the national discussion on police reform and racial justice, several U.S. Catholic bishops are speaking out about the need for police accountability and reform.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and two other bishops recently sent members of Congress a letter highlighting these issues.

Other bishops who signed the letter include Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration; and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, of HoumaThibodaux, chairman of the USCCP Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.

In their letter, the bishops note that, although law enforcement officers offer “a great and needed service,” the “terrible and unjust killing of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many more,” demonstrates that there must be “better practices for formation and accountability for police, certainly in the use of lethal force, but also in patterns of discrimination and prejudice, so that real accountability can happen before more lives are lost.”

The bishops make reference to their pastoral letters on criminal justice and racism over the years, commentary from Pope Francis on the death of George Floyd, as well as a previous address on the use of force by police, and remarks on the role of police in society from Pope Benedict XVI and Pope St. John Paul II.

“We stand in the long tradition — from St. Augustine, to St. Thomas

Aquinas, to Dr. Martin Luther King — that claims that the purpose of law and law enforcement is the promotion of justice,” they wrote.

The “only solution to the challenges of this moment,” is to follow the wise counsel of Pope St. Paul VI: “If you want peace, work for justice.”