Jesuit priests pledged Monday to raise $ 100 million for the descendants of people enslaved by the Catholic order as part of a new racial reconciliation initiative in the US, the New York Times first reported.
Why it matters: It is one of the greatest steps of an institution to reconcile slavery, and “the greatest effort of the Roman Catholic Church to make amends for the buying, selling and enslaving of black people,” ecclesiastical officials and historians have said. NYT.
Driving the news: Protests over systemic racism over the past year have prompted lawmakers and companies to make or consider reparations for slavery.
Details: In a ‘first of its kind partnership’ between descendants of both the enslaved and the slaves, the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation was established by the GU272 Descendants Association and the Jesuits ‘in the pursuit of racial healing and justice,’ said a declaration of the Catholic order.
- The foundation is “rooted in the events of 1838, when 272 enslaved men, women, and children were sold by Georgetown University’s Jesuit owners to plantation owners in Louisiana,” the statement said.
- A New Orleans bank that was later acquired by JPMorgan Chase used these enslaved people as collateral. JPMorgan will be a co-trustee and will provide services including planning and advice.
What to Expect: The group aims to support educational aspirations of descendants for future generations and actively encourage, promote and support programs and activities that “emphasize truth, accelerate racial healing and reconciliation, and promote racial justice and equality in America,” the statement said.
- “The Foundation is committed to a full understanding of and reconciliation with the numerous higher education institutions and other entities that benefited from slavery,” the statement added.
Of interest: The pledge is far less than the $ 1 billion demanded by descendants of leaders of the Catholic order.
- But Reverend Timothy P. Kesicki, president of the Jesuit conference of Canada and the United States, and Joseph Stewart, the foundation’s acting president, told the Times that this remains the long-term goal.
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Go deeper: Biden advisor Cedric Richmond sees progress in first-term reparations