Annual Report
Catholic Association for Racial Justice Annual Report 31 March 2025
Charity Registration Number 1158338
Chair’s Introduction
Joyful greetings to all our members.
This past year (April 2024 – March 2025) saw CARJ celebrating its 40th Anniversary
We had two celebrations, in London and Oldham, to mark the anniversary year. The first was on 25 May 2024 in St Georges Cathedral, Southwark, with approximately 140 people attending. Fr Phil Sumner, presented, CARJ’s vision going forward from its 40th year, set out in the booklet: A Racial Justice Agenda for Change.
On 21 September 2024, we were in Oldham, hosted by St Patricks church on Foundry Street. We developed further our vision for the future in the Agenda for Change.
Throughout the year, CARJ has continued to be active - working with individuals, community groups, schools and in partnership with other organisations on racial justice. We continue to work and pray for a just and equal society. Thank you to all the Trustees for giving of their precious time and working tirelessly for CARJ. Each trustee truly deserves our thanks and praise. We unfortunately have a Trustee – Prof Protasia Torkington - stepping down at the AGM. We are grateful for all she has contributed over many years, and we wish her every blessing for the future, knowing that she will always be part of CARJ’s large family.
A special thanks to Gloria Oham (CARJ Administrator) who unfortunately we have had to make redundant because of shortage of funding. Gloria will go on working with us as a CARJ Associate.
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Summary of CARJ Activities from April 2024 – March 2025
CARJ Bulletins
CARJ circulates a quarterly Bulletin and other occasional bulletins with information on key issues. These Bulletins go to all our members, friends, networks, volunteers, staff, associates and trustees. The contact list receiving these Bulletins is over 700. This year we produced Easter, Summer and Christmas Bulletins.
Work with Schools
Nicole visited St Joseph’s Bexley in October 2024 as a contribution to Black History Month.
Gloria visited Gray's Convent School on 27 Feb 2025 and participated in their careers day speaking about the work of CARJ and working for the public good.
On 6 March 2025, Gloria participated in a zoom workshop with St Martins Academy titled ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in which she spoke about Catholic Social thought and linked this with the work of CARJ.
CARJ Traveller Support Network (TIWG)
CARJ continues to coordinate the TIWG network and held 4 meetings in April, July, October 2024, and January 2025. Topics of discussion were wide ranging from Policing of GRT Communities, the Report of the UN Committee on Racial Discrimination, and Traveller Catechesis to the Travellers Forum in Chelmsford Prison.
Other Partnerships
CARJ continues its partnership work with Christian Network Against Caste Discrimination (CNACD), Churches Together Britain and Ireland CTBI, National Justice and Peace Network NJPN, CAFOD, CSAN and many others.
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CARJ 40th Year Anniversary
To mark this important anniversary CARJ held 2 National events on Sat 25th May and 21st September. On Saturday the 25th of May in London CARJ launched a new 'Racial Justice Agenda for Change', which is the vision for the work of CARJ for the future after these four decades of tirelessly working for racial justice in society. The Agenda for Change builds on the experiences and learning of the past 40 years and puts forward a strategy for bringing about greater equality and creating a racially just church and society, a goal which continues to elude us in the 21st century.
The 21st of September saw about 60 people gather in Oldham for the second of two 40th anniversary conferences. The Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, welcomed those attending before Alison Lowe, the Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire, gave the keynote speech. Fr. Phil Sumner, a Trustee of CARJ, then outlined CARJ’s ‘Agenda for change’. The afternoon session saw those attending break into smaller groups to discuss ‘the way forward’. These discussions were given extra vitality and vision by a group of university students from Notre Dame, based in London and some young people from a YCW group based in Oldham.
AGM 2024
The CARJ AGM was held on Saturday 16 November 2024 which was devoted to ‘practical ways of bringing about racial justice in parishes’ .
CARJ in Liverpool
On 15 October 2024, Archbishop Malcolm Mahon recorded a Pastoral Letter on Racial Justice. A few months later, on 12 April, a half day conference was held at St Margaret Clitherow Centre, to look more deeply at the implications of the pastoral letter and to promote racial justice in the Archdiocese.
In April 2025, Pope Francis appointed the Most Reverend John Francis Sherrington as the Archbishop of Liverpool, Fr Anton Fernandopulle was
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appointed a Trustee of CARJ in 2024 and Deacon Justin Malewezi was appointed Treasurer of CARJ in 2025.
Following a recent joint meeting, CARJ Liverpool and the CARJ group at the Parish of Sts Agnes and Aidan agreed on a proposal to formally combine their efforts under the name CARJ Northwest. Their shared belief is that by working together as a unified group, they will be stronger and more effective in promoting racial justice across the Northwest of England. They also recognise that the Liverpool CARJ group has experienced a decline in membership, and this merger might help to revitalise and consolidate their work in the region.
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CARJ Receipts and payments accounts
| #VALUE! | Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
Catholic Association for Racial Justice |
1158338 | 1158338 | CC16 a |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receipts and payments accounts |
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| For the period from |
Period start date |
To |
Period end date |
|||||||||
| 4/1/2024 | 3/31/2025 | |||||||||||
| Section A Receipts and payments |
||||||||||||
| Unrestric ted funds |
Restricte d funds |
Endowme nt funds |
Total funds |
Last year | ||||||||
| to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ |
||||||||
| A1 Receipts | ||||||||||||
| Donations | 9,311 | - | - | 9,311 | 24,763 | |||||||
| Bank Interest | 1,821 | - | - | 1,821 | 1,704 | |||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
11,132 |
- | - | 11,132 | 26,467 | |||||||
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| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Sub total | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Total receipts | 11,132 | - | - | 11,132 | 26,467 | |||||||
| A3 Payments | ||||||||||||
| Liverpool Music | - | - | - | - | 14,546 | |||||||
| Liverpool Schools Project - other costs |
- | 60 | - | 60 | 1,139 | |||||||
| Liverpool Scools Project - staff Costs |
- | - | - | - | 8,185 | |||||||
| Premises | 3,000 | - | - | 3,000 | 3,804 | |||||||
| Office Administration | 374 | - | - | 374 | 2,816 | |||||||
| Communications & Publicity | 418 | - | - | 418 | 1,163 | |||||||
| Professional Fees | - | - | - | - | 4,290 | |||||||
| London Office - Staff Costs | 28,569 | - | - | 28,569 | 28,494 | |||||||
| Other Costs | 2,536 | 2,536 | 5,327 | |||||||||
| Governance Costs | 1,008 | 1,008 | 244 | |||||||||
| 40th Anniversary | 6,277 | - | - | 6,277 | - | |||||||
| Sub total | 42,182 | 60 | - | 42,242 | 70,008 | |||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) |
||||||||||||
| - | - | - | - | |||||||||
| - | - | - | - |
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| Sub total | - | - | - | - | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total payments | 42,182 | 60 | - | 42,242 | 70,008 | |||||||
| Net of receipts/(payments ) |
- 31,051 |
- 60 | - | - 31,111 | - 43,541 | |||||||
| A5 Transfers between funds |
- | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| A6 Cash funds last year end |
60,921 | 17,303 | - | 78,224 | - | |||||||
| Cash funds this year end |
29,870 |
17,243 | - | 47,113 | - 43,541 | |||||||
| Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period |
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| Categories | Details | Unrestrict ed funds |
Restricte d funds |
Endowm ent funds |
||||||||
| to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
||||||||||
| B1 Cash funds | General fund | 29,870 | 17,243 | - | ||||||||
| - | - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | - | ||||||||||
| Total cash funds | 29,870 | 17,243 | - | |||||||||
| (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
OK | OK | OK |
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| Unrestrict ed funds |
Restricte d funds |
Endowm ent funds |
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| Details | to nearest £ | to nearest £ | to nearest £ |
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| B2 Other monetary assets |
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| - | - | - | |||||||||
| - | - | - | |||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
Current value (optional) |
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| B3 Investment assets |
- | - | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
| Details | Fund to which asset belongs |
Cost (optional) |
Current value (optional) |
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| B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use |
- | - | |||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
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| - | - | ||||||||||
| - | - | ||||||||||
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| - | - |
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Fund to Amount When due
which due (optional)
liability (optional)
Details relates
B5 Liabilities -
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Signed by one or two
Date of
trustees on behalf of all Signature Print Name
approval
the trustees
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