(ROME) CNS -- If Bishop Robert Paul Boxie was selected to become a bishop just because he is Black, he said he is comfortable with that."Some people may believe I've been selected, picked, because I'm Black," he said in an interview with Catholic News Service's 'Vatican Access.' "I've thought about this, I’ve reflected on it, and you know what, I'm actually okay with that."One of the newest bishops Pope Leo XIV appointed in the U.S. said racism remains an undercurrent in the Catholic Church, recounting his own encounters with it in the seminary and calling for greater Black representation in the hierarchy, parish life and the church's understanding of holiness.Bishop Boxie, who was named auxiliary bishop of Washington, said some critics have labeled him a "DEI bishop," a phrase he dismissed as a "dog whistle" suggesting that a Black person was elevated as part of a diversity, equity and inclusion program at the expense of someone more quali

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians can help overcome the many distortions and lies about the true dignity of every human person and, in doing so, promote and defend human life, Pope Leo XIV said."Created in God's image, through Christ and for His sake, we have received a unique and indelible dignity. Let us commit ourselves to promoting and defending it always, with the light and strength of the Gospel," he said during his weekly general audience talk in St. Peter's Square Sept. 9."This dignity is entrusted to the responsibility of each person: at the same time, it also demands solidarity and mutual care, overcoming the many falsifications and manipulations that still disfigure our perception of it and hinder its realization," he said, continuing his series of talks on documents from the Second Vatican Council.The first chapter of the conciliar constitution, "Gaudium et Spes," underlined that the foundation and condition for the world's most cherished values