The Catholic Response to Racism

So much sadness going on right now in our country — and it’s a sadness that seems to be almost as old as time itself. It’s a sadness that was never meant to be — a sadness rooted in the original Fall of Adam and Eve.

That Fall from grace had consequences for the rest of us. It left our hearts broken in different ways, and what was once “unthinkable” became possible in the hearts of man.

Racism is a result of the Fall from grace. It has taken different forms — but racism, in any form, is evil. It is a sin against charity.

It strikes out against the Great commandment given to us in the Old Covenant and reiterated by Jesus in the New Covenant.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

The Church has spoken out against racism since the beginning. In the early Church, St. Peter, with the urging of St. Paul, defended the legitimacy of Gentile Christians. There was no distinction between Jew or Greek, as long as they were baptized.

The early Christians also recognized the legitimate claim of all men, women and children — slave or free — to the love of God and to their common destiny of Heaven.

Furthermore, the Catholic Church recognizes that our human rights flow from our God-given dignity — and therefore Catholics have a duty to stand up for the equality of all human beings.

Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a society undermines its own moral legitimacy.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1930

No matter the racism (it has taken many forms throughout history), the principles remain the same: we are all equal in dignity and worth in the eyes of God and we are all called to the same destiny: eternal life with our Father in Heaven.

All of us are called to examine our hearts for any forms of racism and hatred against our neighbor and ask God to root it out.

In the last decades…marked by the worrying resurgence of aggressive nationalism, ethnic violence and widespread phenomena of racial discrimination, human dignity has often been seriously threatened. Every upright conscience cannot but decisively condemn any racism, no matter in what heart or place it is found.

John Paul II , Angelus address, 2001

Step one in eliminating racism is examining our own hearts and repenting of it.

Step two is working for a more just society around us. We have a duty to stay actively involved in the voting process and in advocating for reforms.

It is important to recognize and stand against all forms of racism, in whatever form they take.

Look at Hitler’s systematic attack on the Jewish Nation and then the Polish nation. Some stood up and others remained silent.

Look at the Rwandan genocide, the mass slaughter of Tutsi, Twa and moderate Hutu people’s by the extremist Hutu-led government. Some stood up and others remained silent.

Look at the “Great Famine” in Ireland — one in which there was plenty of food in Ireland still being sent to wealthy English landowners — and yet, millions of Irish Catholics died of starvation or emigrated because they were considered “less-than” and not worthy of saving. Some stood up and others remained silent.

Sadly, in our own country, we’ve seen crimes of racism since it’s inception. The Trail of Tears for Native Americans, the enslavement of Africans, brought to America against their will, and other acts of racism against poor immigrants who reached our shores and were considered “less than”.

Some stood up in our own country and fought for equality and others remained silent or even fought against equality.

It’s a theme we see over and over throughout all of history. Those considered “less than” systematically being oppressed by those in power. It’s why knowing history is so important. It gives us an opportunity to not repeat it again.

We have to acknowledge those sins of racism and oppression, especially in our own country. But we also should look to those who worked to right those wrongs through advocating for laws that upheld the dignity and rights of all men and women and making social reforms.

Look at the women suffragettes whose fight for the enfranchisement of women resulted in a woman’s right to vote in 1920.

Look at the men and women of all races and creeds who joined Martin Luther King, Jr’s work to peacefully fight for the enfranchisement of black men and women, resulting in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

As an aside, I am proud to say that my mother marched with Martin Luther King, Jr and also worked to register black men and women to vote to make sure their voice was heard.

My mother knew that to be Catholic was to stand against racism and hatred in any form. I’ve always looked to her lead when considering my own part to play.

She later helped to found another march to continue the fight for equality for all — the March for Life. She saw the clear connection between fighting for equality for black men and women and fighting for the equality for the baby in the womb.

She risked a lot to stand up for what she believed in, and so should we! We all have a part to play in ending racism and inequality, and it’s going to look differently for all of us.

In many ways, the pro-life and anti-racism movements are directly related to each other — both stand in opposition to a culture that tries to deny the God-given dignity of each human person — both should complement each other in their desire to bring about a more just society.

In order to end racism, we must work for a just society and to enact laws that uphold the dignity of all persons before the law. We should take seriously the duty to vote to elect men and women who will uphold those principles.

But the work can’t end there. It must continue all the way to the heart.

No legislation could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a “neighbor,” a brother.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 193

Racism begins in the heart, and therefore the heart is the final battleground.

The battle of the heart begins with you and me loving the people around us — our neighbor.

We should beg God to give us a great love in our hearts for ALL PEOPLE. We should be quick to say we are sorry and to ask for forgiveness when we fail to love as we ought.

It continues by having the conversations with our kids that must happen in order to clearly state racism is an evil and emphasize our duty to stand in opposition to it.

We have a duty to equip our kids to go out into the world and try to make it a more just society. That begins with conversations that will equip our kids to understand the challenges they are facing.

Finally, in order to eliminate racism, we need Jesus! We need to know Jesus and to allow Him to transform our hearts and give us the direction we need to play our unique part in ending all forms of hatred and racism and bigotry.

He is the only way out of the mess we find ourselves in. Jesus is the only way. Let us not grow weary in loving the people around us and doing the good that we can do.

Let us look to Jesus and the Saints who walked before us and follow their lead. Saints like St. Francis for example:

What if — in the face of racism, hatred, darkness, sadness, doubt, injury and despair — we sowed love, light, joy, faith, justice and forgiveness? Imagine what that would do in our hearts and the hearts of those we encounter.

What if we prayed and fasted for an end to racism in all of it’s forms and asked God to heal our land? What if?

It’s powerful stuff, people, and with it comes a powerful prayer to pray: “Lord make me an instrument of your peace and your love and your justice”. Amen