Black Catholic leader condemns threats, ‘loss of civility’ after Kirk’s assassination

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 3, 2025 / 12:32 pm (CNA).

The president of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators (NABCA) decried the “loss of civility and respect” in public discourse after the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk and said Black bishops received death threats. 

“It is with sadness that we acknowledge the death of Charlie Kirk. Regardless of our individual opinions about his work or words, every life is sacred,” Father Reginald Norman said in a statement. Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a Utah Valley University event Sept. 10. 

“In the days following his death, however, we have seen something even more tragic than the loss of one life: the loss of civility and respect for one another,” he continued. “Threats against Black bishops and Catholic leaders are deeply troubling. Such behavior has no place among people of faith or in a society rooted in justice.”

The NABCA leader emphasized in the statement that Catholics “are called to honor the dignity of every person — even those with whom we disagree” — and respect each other’s freedom of expression “without fear of retaliation and intimidation.” 

“The Black Catholic community, in particular, continues to feel its contributions overlooked or erased,” Norman wrote. “While some public figures are allowed to disparage Black people without consequence, when Black voices rise in defense of their contributions or offer differing perspectives, they are too often silenced or threatened. This imbalance is unjust.” 

Norman told CNA in an interview that Black Catholics voiced concerns about some of Kirk’s statements.

“I sit in a lot of meetings and committees on the local and the national level,” Norman told CNA in an interview. “And every single meeting that I’ve gone to since this incident, Black people are very upset by some of the comments that have been made for him.”

For example, Black Catholics expressed discomfort with the TPUSA founder being cast as “a martyr,” though Kirk’s death is a tragedy to be mourned, Norman said.

Some of Kirk’s comments hurt Black people, Norman said, such as comments made by Kirk during a July 14, 2023, episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” mentioning four Black women: Michelle Obama, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, television host Joy Reid, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.

Kirk said: “If we had said [those women] were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now … They’re coming out and saying ‘I’m only here because of affirmative action.’ We know. You do not have the brain processing power to be taken really seriously.”

Norman said the comments were offensive toward Black people.

“I don’t know [Kirk] personally,” Norman said. “I only know what the media reports, and I’ve seen some great things that he said, but I’ve also seen some negative things that he said. And in this day and age, we should be trying to pull together, not separate.”

Threats to clergy

Norman said that “one of our bishops wrote something on DEI, which wasn’t even [related to the assassination] and it went out there, and then the article was pulled.” 

“He’s been getting death threats ever since,” Norman said, noting the authorities are investigating the threats. 

Norman did not confirm the identity of the bishop, but a Sept. 8 article by Washington Archdiocese Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell titled “DEI Means God” was taken down by the USCCB on Sept. 12, two days after Kirk’s death, according to the Black Messenger. The USCCB told the publication at the time that the article had not undergone the proper internal review and was taken down as a result. 

Campbell serves as chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee of African American Affairs, part of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. He and the Archdiocese of Washington did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

This incident, Norman said, “relates to the fact that just as [Kirk] was free to say whatever he wanted to say, other people who might have contrasting views should also be able to be free to say what they want to say without being threatened or harmed.” 

According to Norman, “we’re not learning from the loss of [Kirk’s] life,” as “other people who might have a contrasting view are being threatened and harmed.”

“That’s even more dangerous because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop, and we just seem to continue going forward with more hate, more harm, more crime, more threats,” Norman said, adding: “And shouldn’t we learn from the example of this life? This man was tragically killed, not by his own fault. Shouldn’t we be putting our efforts to stop that from happening rather than allowing it to continue, just because someone has a different opinion?”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266937/black-catholic-leader-condemns-threats-loss-of-civility-after-kirks-assassination