October 27, 2019 - "Racism"

I was looking forward to the presentation by our former parochial vicar, Fr. Robert Boxie, on racism.  Unfortunately, Fr. Boxie was not able to deliver his talk yesterday owing to a conflict that had developed in his schedule.  We are hoping to reschedule his talk soon. He had planned to offer some more reflections on a recently issued pastoral letter by our bishops on racism.  
 
Last November the US Bishops issued this pastoral letter against racism entitled Open Wide Your Hearts.  Racism consists in judging other persons to be inferior owing to race or ethnicity.   At the beginning of Open Wide Your Hearts, the bishops teach that racist actions arising from feelings of superiority violate justice.  It is also a failure to love our neighbor and a denial of the fundamental truth that all persons are “all equally made in the image of God.”  Our Bishops draw attention to forms of racism that still plague society in the U.S.A., notably racism toward Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos.
 
In the document the Bishops provide a sketch of the history of racism experienced by Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos.  The Bishops show how the “lust to dominate” others led to a systematic theft of the land and the forced resettlement of the Native American population.  Not only were African peoples brutally enslaved, they were also consistently barred from social advancement through unjust laws.  They were labeled as “inferior” by many in society and to their way of thinking did not fully bear God’s image.  Hispanics or Latinos have constantly borne the brunt of “discrimination of housing, employment, health care, and education.”
 
Our Bishops propose three actions encouraged in the Old Testament Prophet Micah (6:8) as a remedy for this situation:  doing justice, loving goodness, and walking humbly with God.  “Justice” would require an honest assessment of the reality and the “restoring of relationships.” Love for our neighbor is the key to “loving goodness.”  This requires that we “make room for others in our hearts” and that we remember that when one member of the Body of Christ suffers, all suffer. Lastly, rebuilding the relationships broken through racism is how we can “walk humbly with God.”  Even the Catholic Church needs to admit its own complicity in “the evil of racism,” in the past and present.  The Bishops mention that we can learn from the example of other countries, such as South Africa, Germany, and Rwanda, and from certain institutions that have recognized past wrongs and have come to understand the truth of their history.
 
We at St. Francis will take up their challenge to understand how we may knowingly or unknowingly contribute to this tragic violation of the plan of God for His children.  Both the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Richmond are conducting similar sessions on the topic of racism.

We are developing a series of education sessions based on the programs developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to include expert talks as well as talks by individuals sharing their experiences of racism in their lives.  Fr. Boxie’s presentation is to be the first in this series.
 
We are looking for parishioners who have experienced racism due to their race or ethnicity, either overtly or subtly, and are willing to share their experiences in a future session so that we may all learn from their experiences.  If you are interested in sharing in a future session, please contact our Director of Social Concerns and Adult Faith Formation, Tony Bosnick, at [email protected].
 
Until next week,
Fr. John