A Roman Catholic bishop in the United States spoke out about systemic racism in the Catholic Church

Robert Paul Boxie, an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, criticized the church hierarchy, stating that racism exists within the religious organization. The bishop called for greater representation of Black believers in leadership positions and in parish life.

In an interview with , Robert Boxey directly linked the lack of African American bishops to the problem of racism within the Church’s structure. According to him, the hierarchy does not pay sufficient attention to the needs of the Black community, despite the fact that Catholic teaching proclaims the dignity of the human person. “When we remain unfaithful to this teaching and stray from the path, that is when problems such as racism arise,” — the bishop emphasized.

Boxi also drew attention to the visual design of churches, noting that the predominance of images of exclusively white saints does not reflect the full diversity of church history. He proposed placing images of Black saints in parishes across the United States to inspire African American believers and remind other Catholics of the unity of the Church.

The bishop expressed gratitude for the Church’s recent acknowledgment of its historical complicity in the institution of slavery, calling it an important historical step. According to data from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, there are currently only five Black bishops out of 268 in the country, even though Black citizens make up more than 15% of the U.S. population.