Georgetown co-hosted a conference for religious leaders and researchers on increasing access to Catholic archives to better understand the history of the Catholic Church and slavery in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The conference<\/a> was organized by the Catholic Religious Organizations Studying Slavery<\/a> (CROSS), a nonprofit made up of diocesan leaders and members of religious organizations. The organization works to improve access to the records of enslaved people in Catholic archives to provide a more comprehensive account of enslavement within the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n From Nov. 13-14, diocesan leaders, archivists and researchers, college students, university faculty and members of the Descendant community discussed best practices to uncover and analyze historical records, study Catholic cemeteries and incorporate archival material into the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Staff from Georgetown\u2019s Booth Family Center for Special Collections also contributed their expertise in researching Georgetown\u2019s archives and shared tools that scholars, Descendants and the public can use to access these historical materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe appreciate CROSS\u2019s dedicated efforts to enhance access to and engagement with Catholic archives and their work to build a greater understanding of Catholic slaveholding and its legacies in the United States,\u201d said Joseph Ferrara, senior vice president and chief of staff to the president at Georgetown, in welcoming conference attendees.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yet this work \u2014 to uncover the histories and connections of enslaved people within the history of the Catholic world \u2014 is unfinished, just as our nation\u2019s response to this history remains unfinished and ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n