VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis on Sunday denounced racism and compared it to a virus waiting to wait and just come forward and show that “our alleged social progress is not as real or definitive” as what people think.
Francis tweeted on the date on which the United Nations acted as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The pope likened racism to “a virus that mutates quickly and instead of disappearing, hiding and waiting to wait.” ‘
“Cases of racism keep us ashamed because it shows that our alleged social progress is not as real or definitive as we think,” Francis tweeted, adding the hashtag #FightRacism #FratelliTutti. ‘Fratelli Tutti’ ‘is the title of the encyclical or special education document issued by the pope last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic to campaign for solidarity, brotherhood and caring for the environment worldwide.
In his tweet, Francis mentions no specific case of racism or place. Throughout his papacy, he campaigned for the rights of people marginalized in communities, including migrants.
The annual UN commemoration on March 21 commemorates the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people during a peaceful protest against apartheid laws in 1960.