News - June 2021 RSS Feed

An item that has been in the news lately is the discovery of the remains of over 200 children at a former indigenous residential school in Canada. Both Canadian bishops and indigenous leaders are pushing for a papal apology because this particular Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia, which was founded in 1890, was run by both the local Catholic Church and the Canadian government until it closed in 1978. Calls are being increased for Pope Francis to make a formal public apology for the crimes and abuses committed against indigenous children at the schools on behalf of the Catholic Church. Since similar schools were run in the United States, it is timely that we look at racism and the experience of Native Americans. The information that I am presenting on this comes from a background sheet entitled “Racism and the Native American Experience.” Here is the link for this background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-native-american-experience.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of people of a different race. It does not reflect the inner life of God—the Triune unity of three-in-one-that we are called to imitate. Racism manifests itself in sinful individual actions, which contribute to structures of sin that perpetuate division and inequality, as has been seen throughout our nation’s history and into the present. One such structure in need of conversion is the criminal justice system. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and the Criminal Justice System” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-criminal-justice.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism is rooted in a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of people of different ethnic backgrounds. It does not reflect the love of neighbor that the Lord calls us to have. It denies the diversity of God’s plan. Racism manifests itself in sinful individual actions, which contribute to structures of sin that perpetuate division and inequality. One area where racism has become evident is in the way that the United States has approached the issue of migration, historically, and even today. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and Migration in the United States” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the background position paper for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-migration.pdf (usccb.org).

Over the last month, we have been looking at Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love, a pastoral letter that the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued in November 2018. In that letter the Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions, and institutions. Racism can be individual, when persons fail to recognize certain groups as created in the image of God and equal in dignity, or it can be systemic, where practices and policies treat certain groups of people unjustly. One area of systemic racism is lack of access to equal employment opportunities for many persons of color. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have issued a well-written background sheet on “Racism and Employment” that will be my source of information for what I say in this column. Here is the link for the backgrounder for those who wish to consult it directly: racism-and-employment.pdf (usccb.org)