police brutality Archives

Rise in police killings worry the Church leaders in Brazil

Sep 19, 2019

New statistics show the number of violent deaths in Brazil fell by 11 percent in 2018; however, the total number of homicides were still an astounding 57,341. Moreover, over 10 percent of homicides – 6,220 of them – were perpetrated by the police, a rise of 19.6 percent compared to the previous year.

By Eduardo Campos Lima

Philippine police boost image with religious processions honoring Mary

Jun 1, 2018

Beset by allegations of playing an active role in hundreds, if not thousands, of drug-related killings, Philippine police have sought to boost their battered image by holding religious processions in honor of Mary.

By Catholic News Service

Successor to civil rights leader Rev. King urges unity in Baltimore sermon

Apr 14, 2018

The 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. brought together religious and civic leaders in Baltimore to focus on their city’s problems with violence as well as the country’s.

By Christopher Gunty

Pope Francis calls police officers to choose mercy over violence

Nov 20, 2017

In an audience with Italian traffic and railway police, Pope Francis invited officers to avoid violence and exercise wisdom and mercy instead. He also criticized the inattention and disorderliness shown by many drivers who look at their cellphones while at the wheel and transform the roads in Formula Uno tracks.

By Claire Giangravè

NFL ought to find a better way than kneeling to express protest

Oct 1, 2017

What’s been lost amid the current American debate about the NFL and protesting police brutality and racial injustice is that kneeling is a particularly religious act, reserved to the realm of the spirit and associated with submission and surrender to something supernaturally higher than ourselves. There are better, and more appropriate, gestures to express protest and civil disobedience.

By Father Jeffrey F. Kirby

St. Louis archbishop urges peace in the midst of protests over cop acquittal

Sep 17, 2017

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson said that while “acknowledging the hurt and anger, [the people of St. Louis] must not fuel the fires of hatred and division” in the wake of the acquittal of a white former police officer accused of murdering a black suspect. Carlson said, “We must work together for a better, stronger, safer community, one founded upon respect for each other, and one in which we see our neighbor as another self.”

By Crux Staff