The Tablet February 2, 2021 A jail cell is seen in 2010 at the federal penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Under an executive order issued by President Joe Biden Jan. 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice will not renew contracts with private prisons. (Photo: CNS/Jenevieve Robbins, Texas Dept of Criminal Justice handout via Reuters) WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairmen of two U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees welcomed recent executive actions by President Joe Biden to address racial equity in housing and the use of private prisons by the federal government. The orders will reduce discrimination in federal policies, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, head of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, head of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, said in a Feb. 1 statement.