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In September 2012, violence struck at the heart of our diocesan community when 19-year-old Jorge Fuentes was murdered while walking his dog outside his home in Dorchester.  He was an exuberant, remarkable young man and natural leader, adored by the children he mentored at St. Stephen’s Church and St. Mary’s Church in Boston and respected by his peers.  Many in our diocese knew him because he grew up and worked in the B-SAFE summer and B-READY afterschool programs and the Barbara C. Harris Camp of our church.

After Jorge’s murder, then Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE convened a group of clergy and lay leaders to help determine how the Diocese of Massachusetts could take meaningful action toward alleviating some of the root causes of violence in our communities.  The 2012 Diocesan Convention formalized that group and its charge by unanimously voting to create the Jorge Fuentes Antiviolence Task Force.


The task force and its subcommittees have been meeting regularly since fall 2012.  Through the task force’s meetings, research and discernment, the diocese launched the B-PEACE for Jorge Campaign.

 

B-PEACE stands for:

Bishop’s Action Steps Toward Peace:
Programs for youth
Employment for teens and young adults
Academic excellence in public schools
Communities for families
End to gun violence