As Catholics, We Are Called to End the Sin of Racism

Let’s start by listening to people of color in our communities

Racism in the United States has a long and complex history, and it has been called America’s original sin. Generations of systemic and personal racial discrimination have led to significant disparities in education, housing, employment, economic well-being, and leadership. Over the last few years, racism has surfaced in our communities, through unjustified killings of people of color, police brutality, and most recently, the January 6th attacks in Washington D.C.

Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God. Racism attacks the inherent dignity of each individual by its implications that one person is “better than” or “less than” another.

Racism can be outwardly blatant, but it is often difficult to define because it is hard to acknowledge its presence in oneself.

In Open Wide Our Hearts, the U.S. Catholic Bishops share that:

“Racism arises when — either consciously or unconsciously — a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts…reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love.”

This excerpt references Matthew 22:39, where Jesus calls us to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

However, it is apparent that many Americans, including Christians, only choose to love the neighbors who look and act like they do.

We all share a common origin, equally made in the image of God, which means we are all sisters and brothers. I believe if we regard all the persons who share Earth as our common home as sisters and brothers, a higher level of respect and a deeper appreciation for each other’s needs would develop.

The challenge in America is that the cumulative effects of racism have led to deeply ingrained social structures of injustice.

As Father Dan Horan states, “Racism isn’t just something from long ago in the South or in the “inner city,” but deeply embedded and woven into the very fabric of all parts of this country.”

There are four patterns of racism. Spatial racism is the term given to metropolitan development in which the affluent create racially and economically segregated areas of cities, leaving the poor — mainly Blacks, Hispanics and newly arrived immigrants — isolated in deteriorating geographic areas. This leads to economic inequities including lack of affordable housing, adequate public schools, capital investment for businesses, nearby employment and social mobility.

Institutional racism is essentially the patterns of social and racial superiority where people assume, consciously or unconsciously, that Caucasian people are superior, and ignore the contributions of other people and cultures. It leads to indifference and lack of opportunities for people of color.

Environmental racism is the link between pollution and poverty. The poor and the powerless most directly bear the burden and suffer disproportionately from the harmful effects of environmental degradation.

Individual racism is the pattern that perpetuates itself when people grow up with a sense of white racial superiority, whether conscious or unconscious. This manifests in crimes of racial hatred, racial stereotyping, and feelings of superiority of one’s own cultural group and inferior status to those outside one’s comfort zone.

From these patterns, we can see that racism intersects with class and culture and geography. Its prevalence in so many areas of daily life creates false hierarchies of human value; it affects how we perceive ourselves and others. It cannot be ignored that white people are privileged in this country, while people of color can be made to feel that they embody less intelligence, beauty, and goodness, leading them to feel discouraged, disheartened and unloved.

Now, nearly a year into a pandemic that has affected every single person on Earth, we see that all humankind is interconnected and interdependent.

But sometimes, if a situation does not have a direct impact on us, we choose to ignore it. However, when we remain silent, we commit a sin of omission. As the U.S. Bishops state, “This command of love can never be simply ‘live and let others be.’ The command of love requires us to make room for others in our hearts.”

This statement echoes the sentiments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote nearly 60 years ago that whites cannot “prefer a negative peace — which is the absence of tension — to a positive peace — which is the presence of justice.”

What does this mean?

We need to develop empathy; to be consciously inclusive; to promote justice; to work for equal opportunity. We cannot sit idly on the sidelines while our sisters and brothers are suffering.

The U.S. Bishops are calling for a “genuine conversion of heart, a conversion that will compel change, and the reform of our institutions and society.”

This transformation of the human heart needs to begin in each of us through understanding. As author of the 2019 book How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi, states, “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it — and then dismantle it.”

To identify racism in our lives, we must first listen to the voices of people of color as they share their stories and experiences. Read articles, books, blogs and social media; watch podcasts and videos; attend webinars. Reach out to people of color you know or work with or who you see at school or church or in your community.

Those of us who are privileged need to examine our beliefs and our attitudes, after marinating in systemic racism for most of our lives. Self reflection and prayer are a critical component of this growth.

Sister Tracy Kemme, a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, shares that “Instead of accepting the status quo, we must: face our implicit bias; understand the power dynamics that come with being white; take the initiative to learn the parts of the story our upbringing allowed us to ignore; listen with humility…to illuminate new perspectives; back movements for racial justice led by people of color; vote for the common good; and work to change the culture on every level…we’ve got to intentionally be part of the solution.”

To begin to gain the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes and move toward solidarity in the spirit of love and compassion as one world and one family, let us reflect on the following questions:

- How can we reach out beyond our comfort level to meet and learn about people of color who are in our communities? How do we start a dialogue?

- How can we examine institutional policies to make sure they are not discriminatory? What can we do to speak up when we see that the voices of people of color are not being included?

- How can we act in our daily lives to bring diversity and respect for people of color into our daily activities?

I close with an excerpt from the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother St. Clare of Assisi Region Statement on Racism:

We understand the goals of achieving equality are great, but we work with an ardent hope and the steadfast faith that these ideals are attainable. Through our beliefs and actions, we seek to alleviate suffering, cultivate compassion and inspire others to work toward this vision. There is no true peace until there is justice for all.

Sources: “Open Wide Our Hearts: the enduring call to love, a pastoral letter against racism” by the U.S. Catholic Bishops; Sisters of Mercy “The Elimination of Racism,” U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops “A Prayer Service for Racial Healing of Our Land,” “The bishops’ letter fails to recognize that racism is a white problem,” by Fr. Daniel P. Horan; Wisconsin Interfaith Power and Light Statement on Racism and Climate Justice; “To Be ‘Woke’ Is To Be Aware Of What Is Inside and Out” by Sr. Nicole Trahan; “Dear White People: Nice Doesn’t Cut It” by Sr. Tracy Kemme