WASHINGTON – Bishop Joseph N. Perry, auxiliary bishop of Chicago and chairman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, issued on June 29:

“Education is a gift, an opportunity, and an important aspect of our democracy that is not always within the reach of all, especially racial and ethnic groups who find themselves on the margins. It is our hope that our Catholic institutions of higher learning will continue to find ways to make education possible and affordable for everyone, regardless of their background. As St. Katharine Drexel, patroness and pioneer in Catholic education, was quoted as saying in our pastoral letter Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor as well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing.”