LA religious leaders call for compassion in fighting racial prejudice

The Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders (LACRL) is calling on Angelenos to join “the struggle to find compassionate responses to injustice” in the wake of country-wide protests after the death of George Floyd. 

In a statement issued May 31, the LACRL said that “formless violence often re-victimizes the very people who themselves struggle for justice, when people are hurt and property randomly destroyed… Our targets should be attitudes and prejudices and systems of wrong, and not people different from ourselves.” They decried the “misuse of legitimate anger” that has led to looting, fires, and riots in the streets for the past several nights. 

The LACRL is an “informal alliance” of leaders from Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faith communities throughout Los Angeles, including Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith from the Archdiocese.

“Finding the humanity in one another across boundaries of faith and race and culture and class is the challenge of life together in a pluralistic society,” the leaders said. “Moving beyond that acknowledgement to support and advocate for one another is the natural result of the human solidarity we have learned from our work together.” 

“We call for government to be responsive, for law enforcement to be just and merciful, and for everyone to act for the true common good: a pluralistic, diverse society in which people of all races and faiths can thrive, in their variety, with integrity and in safety.”