The Nation - News from Aug. 29, 1989

Roman Catholic leaders announced an ambitious plan to educate and involve more than 18,000 local church members in the fight against racism. “We need to increase the level of awareness and create action-oriented programs and policies,” said Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Francis of the Newark, N.J., diocese. Although the first phase of the program--a national teleconference set for Nov. 18--has been in the works for nearly three years, the issue has taken on added urgency by two recent developments: the decision of a black priest, Father George A. Stallings Jr. of Washington, to set up his own African-American liturgical rite and the racially motivated shooting of a black youth in New York City by young whites.