The Pastoral Council for the Wairarapa Catholic Parish has issued a formal apology for the All Lives Matter sign displayed outside St. Patrick’s Church last week.
It attracted coverage from every major media outlet in New Zealand.
“St Patrick’s Church Masterton and the Pastoral Council of the Catholic Parish of Wairarapa sincerely apologise for the hurt and distress that the sign posted outside the church last week has caused to many members of our community,” it said.
“Our Parish Council and community will stand against and speak out against all racism, including the institutional racism suffered by many people all over the world. Black Lives Matter.”
Cardinal Dew, the Catholic Archbishop of Wellington, said the sign was placed when the parish priest was away last week.
On June 3 Pope Francis denounced the “sin of racism” and twice identified Floyd as the victim of a “tragic” killing.
“My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”
“At the same time, we have to recognize that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating.”
“Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.”
On the same day, the Pope called the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop José Gomez.
He also called Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso who was recently photographed with a group of priests dropped to one knee at the spot where protesters had clashed with police the night before.
They had prayed in silence for about eight minutes, the time Floyd spent under the officer’s knee before becoming unconscious.
Seitz said the pope thanked him without mentioning the demonstration, but the context was clear: “My recent words and actions on the events that are taking place in the country now” after Floyd’s killing.
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