Pax Christi winner says 'God is calling us' to confront issue of race

Published: 2006-08-10

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Cathleen Crayton isn't afraid to talk about race. In fact she lives for the kinds of conversations many people fear as taboo or too controversial. With her kind and modest demeanor, Crayton -- known by friends as Cathy -- has invited and welcomed parishioners, and even a bishop, to her Claremont home to dialogue about race relations. She's taken her passion around the country, facilitating discussions among white, black and brown Catholics on ways in which skin color has affected their lives. "Race is a fundamental division, and we're a long way off from realizing the oneness of humanity," Crayton told The Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Crayton, who is African-American, was honored in July by the Catholic peace organization Pax Christi USA with the Ambassador of Peace award for her dedicated and sustained effort to make the peace movement more representative of people of color. The award was presented at Pax Christi's July 28-30 annual conference in Pittsburgh.

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