CARJ is a support and a voice for black and minority ethnic Catholics.
CARJ also facilitates, encourages and empowers people of all backgrounds to work within the Catholic community, ecumenically and in the wider society for racial justice.
CARJ works with parishes and schools, organises seminars and conferences, produces and distributes publications and audio visual resources and offers racial justice training to local groups and widely among organizations and institutions within the Catholic Church.
CARJ has organised two National Racial Justice Congresses which set a direction for the Catholic community in addressing issues of diversity, equality and racism in and outside the Church.
Every year CARJ Organises Racial Justice Sunday on the second Sunday of September.
CARJ works with young people of diverse backgrounds in and outside of schools to support them in achieving their full potential and to encourage them to become active and responsible citizens of the world working with others for the common good.
CARJ is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and the year 2009 will be devoted to a series of local events to discern the challenges of the future and how the Church can best respond to these.
In the early 1970’s, the Catholic Bishops’ of England and Wales established the Catholic Commission for Racial Justice (CCRJ). The Commission worked for more than ten years promoting awareness and good practice across the Catholic community.
In 1984, the Bishops approved the establishment of the Catholic Association for Racial Justice (CARJ). CARJ was established as a separate charity and as a lay-led and black-led organisation which would bring Catholics of all backgrounds together to work for racial justice.
No. You don’t need to be Catholic or a Christian. We are an open membership organisation. Anyone who subscribes to our general aims and values is welcome to be a member.
No. CARJ will come into a parish, school, dioceses or organisation by invitation only. We are not there as an enforcement agency. We are there to assist, enable, advise and help any group within or outside the Catholic community.
No, we don’t charge for our ordinary services. CARJ is a charitable organisation and we welcome donations. For certain types of work (eg: training) we may negotiate a fee if the organisation in question can afford it.
CARJ is self supporting. We rely on grants, donations and the Racial Justice Sunday appeal.
A nominal fee between £5 (unwaged) to £15 (waged) is required for CARJ Membership. We also run a scheme called ‘Friends of CARJ’ – this is an ideal scheme for schools.
Groups and individuals may feel they need advice, support and/or resources before going any further with the process of preparation. A number of dioceses have racial justice groups. If you are not sure who your local racial justice contact person is, please get in touch with the CARJ Office.