Racism and the Inclusive Heart of the Church
Dear friends,
Recently, I met with the senior executives of CatholicCare Tasmania. One of their number raised the issue of people experiencing racism and sometimes violent attacks. In one of our northern parishes, the subject of racism was raised by parishioners during the after-Mass cuppa.
Racism wounds the very heart of humanity. It divides where God has called us to unity, and it devalues what God has created in love. In his Angelus Address on 26 August 2001, Pope St John Paul II spoke directly to this sin against human dignity. He said: “Every upright conscience cannot but decisively condemn any racism, no matter in what heart or place it is found.” He reminded us that every person bears the image of God and is therefore worthy of equal respect and love.
Further, Pope John Paul spoke of the remedy: “To oppose racism we must practice the culture of reciprocal acceptance, recognizing in every man and woman a brother or sister with whom we walk in solidarity and peace. There is need for a vast work of education to the values that exalt the dignity of the human person and safeguard his fundamental rights.”
This conviction stands at the heart of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart. The Church here in Tasmania strives to be a home for all—an inclusive community in which people from every land can gather around the same altar and recognise one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Church does not simply welcome diversity as an ideal; she lives it daily through the people who bring their stories, languages, and gifts to our parishes, schools, and agencies.
Our Archdiocesan agencies are living signs of this inclusivity. CatholicCare Tasmania, St Joseph Affordable Homes, Blueline Laundry, Loreto Community Housing, and Southern Cross Care each embody the Gospel in action—serving people in need while fostering workplaces where dignity, respect, and collaboration are daily realities.
Across these organisations, employees come from every corner of the globe: from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. In their shared work, cultural differences are not barriers but blessings that enrich the common mission of service.
Our Catholic agencies have been recognised for their outstanding employee experiences and inclusive practices. At Blueline Laundry, for instance, people of varied abilities and backgrounds work side by side, building genuine community.
St Joseph Affordable Homes has created opportunities for young apprentices some of whom are from migrant and refugee backgrounds to learn trades that change lives. CatholicCare’s teams reach out to families and individuals from many cultural traditions, offering counselling, emergency relief, and social support that honours each person’s story.
In all these ways, the Archdiocese bears witness to a Church that is both local and universal.
Pope John Paul II called the church to pray about this issue: “Let us invoke Our Lady, so that everywhere the culture of dialogue, of acceptance, and of respect for every human being may be advanced.”
The Catholic community in Hobart seeks to nurture precisely this spirit—one parish, one school, one agency at a time.
The first Eucharistic Prayer for Masses for Various Needs reminds us:
For by the word of your Son’s Gospel you have brought together one Church
from every people, tongue, and nation, and, having filled her with life by the power of your Spirit, you never cease through her to gather the whole human race into one.
Every Mass celebrated in our Archdiocese is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, where people of every race and nation will stand together before the Lord. Around that table, no one is foreign; all are family. The Church in Tasmania continues to strive toward that vision—a living witness that in Christ, there are no strangers, only brothers and sisters, gathered from every land, at home in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
May the Lord bless and keep you.