About CROSS

Catholic Religious Organizations Studying Slavery (CROSS) was established in March 2021 by representatives of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Jesuit Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation project. It would grow to encompass 15 men and women representing eight dioceses and six religious organizations who convened to study the records of enslaved peoples within Catholic archives.

This project is the embodiment of a discussion that has been ongoing for over a decade in Catholic archives and history communities, where questions have been raised about access to records of people who were enslaved.

Our Mission

Recognizing that slavery is a sin, it is our mission to promote open and honest access to the historical record in order to achieve a more comprehensive and truthful telling of enslavement within the Catholic Church in the United States.

Our Purpose

Members of CROSS will work collectively to improve access to the records of the enslaved and those who enslaved them. Additionally, in consultation with descendants of the enslaved, we will promote active engagement with this subject, encouraging discourse on the many legacies of slavery in the United States, and advocating for institutional responses, to a greater effect than would normally be beyond the limited means of each individual member.

Many descendant communities have ancestors who were enslaved to more than one religious order, individual, or institution. Within the past decade, several Catholic dioceses and religious orders have begun examining their histories of slaveholding to acknowledge more fully their participation in the evil of slavery and to work toward repairing the damage wrought by its enduring legacies.

For both historical and contemporary purposes, we find it prudent to assemble these and other entities who share a similar past, to engage with descendant communities, learn from one another, share models and precedents, and suggest best practices resulting in a more comprehensive and accurate account of slavery within the Catholic Church in the United States.

We envision that, in partnership, diocesan organizations, religious orders, schools, and congregations can work to effect greater institutional responses that address the legacies of slavery, benefit descendant communities, and eradicate racism within our respective institutions.