The Jesuit Conference of U.S. and Canada, an order of the Catholic Church, has announced the goal of raising $100 million to benefit the descendants of enslaved people historically owned and sold by Jesuits. The money will go toward a new ‘Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation‘ created by the church in partnership with the GU272 Descendants Association, a group of descendants of enslaved people who were sold by Jesuits in 1838.
Fr. Tim Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference said: “Jesuits have always known our history of slaveholding, but it was not until 2016 that we met the descendants of Jesuit slaveholding and that completely changed our understanding of this historic sin. I think for a church which preaches forgiveness and reconciliation, this is an incredible opportunity to model what true reconciliation is.” The ultimate vision of the foundation is to raise $1 billion. The Jesuit network is committed to raising the first $100 million.
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