Fr. Hans' Pair o' Dimes

This past week in Grow Group we took a deeper look at the United States Bishop’s document addressing racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts.” The bishops first define and acknowledge racism, and then address racism with the three-part directive in Micah 6:8 — Do Justice; Love Goodness; Walk Humbly. The bishops also put together a study guide which provides some excellent personal reflection questions. Here and now I’d like to share some of what they say, my own reactions, and some reflection questions which I find helpful.


The bishops define racism as “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.” I think the “unconsciously” part is very important. Most of us do not consider ourselves racist. . .but what if subconsciously or unconsciously we believe our race is superior? The bishops acknowledge that our upbringing leads us to thoughts we don’t even think of as racist, but which are. Our cultural upbring may explain prejudice, but it does not excuse it.

The bishops also recognize that racism is often about what we don’t do: “too often racism comes in the form of the sin of omission, when individuals, communities, and even churches remain silent and fail to act against racial injustice.” It’s difficult to know what to do when we encounter racism, either in ourselves or in others, but to do nothing and remain silent is not ok.

Justice means making sure each person is accorded their rights, and human rights come from the dignity of being created by God in His image. Society is meant to safeguard fundamental rights, not to define them. The bishops acknowledge that “[d]espite significant progress in  civil law with regard to racism, societal realities indicate a need for further catechesis to facilitate conversion of hearts.” The bishops also recognize that even if our laws are not explicitly racist, they remain too often implicit: “Many of our institutions still harbor, and too many of our laws still sanction, practices that deny justice and equal access to certain groups of people.”

With respect to loving goodness, the bishops ask if our attitudes and actions lead to the Fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If not, we are failing to love goodness.

 

Finally, we must all walk humbly in our efforts to overcome racism in ourselves and in our society. This requires acknowledging sin, both past and present, and asking forgiveness. It requires being open to learning and admitting what we don’t know. It
requires being open to new relationships, and to encountering people who are different from us. Humility requires willingness to change structures, and to change ourselves.

Blessings to Jayden Pham and Luke Shrum, who were baptized this weekend!
 
Funeral services will be held this week for David Hughes. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.