Petition Against Racism and Discrimination at Society of St. Vincent de Paul Gains 11,000 Signatures
A petition calling for action against the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's failure to act on racism within its structures has been filed at Charge.org. While explaining the reasons for starting the petition, the petitioner said he wants to make sure that the community can address racism and discrimination. The petition at Charge.org says that one of the largest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, has covered upa culture of racism and allowed it to thrive within its structures for years. The petitioner says the idea of calling people to sign the petition and bring about change is inspired by the courage of those that rocked the Roman Catholic Church by bringing the sex abuse scandal to the limelight. It was not until someone stood up and said, I am not taking this anymore, and I am going to tell anyone who will listen.
The petition, which is calling for a change in policy on racism, quotes an incidence where a chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (Blessed Sacrament Conference) failed to appropriately respond to reports of racism inside the conference, as well as other complaints of unequal treatment made to the organization's Los Angeles District upper council.
Martin Miller, a former volunteer of the Blessed Sacrament Conference, narrates his ordeal. He said, "We met in October, and at the beginning of the meeting, our Vice-President LaNordo Conn announces that there are more White people on Section 8 Housing than Blacks or Hispanics. He looked directly at me during the announcement."
Miller adds that LaNordo who is black, said he had a job interview and bet that it went to some white guy with less experience. According to Miller, these words were hurtful." I am white, and those were two of many racial remarks that hurt. We were not there to gather statistics; we were there to raise money and allocate funds to help the poor, "said Miller.
The whole incident was taken as a joke in the conference, which did not sit well with the community that felt targeted by the remarks. The conference president was even quoted saying that the Vice President meant well to try to avoid trouble.
According to the petition, this is not the first time the Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood has been involved in a scandal and reported for allowing inappropriate conduct to continue within its walls. BishopAccountability.org,the site that documents the abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, uploaded an article originally reported in the California Catholic Daily
According to the words of Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church does not support racism. Likewise, The Holy Father, in one of his speeches, termed racism today as the "ultimate evil in our world."
The petitioner says the community will address racism and discrimination by signing the petition.
The petition, which aims at getting 15,000 signatures, already has 11,016 people signed. However, the petitioner is calling for more people to sign to help reach the target. Apart from calling out for signatures, the petitioner also urges the community to boycott the society's thrift stores if no action is taken to address the racism and discrimination.
While thanking those who have already signed, Miller says that time is ripe to further their impact demanding the resignation of Susana Santana, the deputy executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, as she has allowed racism to continue in the society.
The petition is available at: https://www.change.org/defundracistcatholiccharities
Media contact inform
Martin Miller
Press Secretary
323-491-3929
