God of justice,
Give us the courage to admit our sins and failings.
Give us the freedom to seek your mercy and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters.
And give us the strength to continue crying out to you for the healing of our nation
until it fulfills its commitment to recognize that you have created all people equal.
- America Magazine, 6/1/2020
Day 8: What is racism?
"[Racism is a mystery of evil that includes] the base belief that some of us are more important, deserving and worthy than others. It includes the ugly conviction that this country and its history and opportunities and resources as well as our economic and political life belong more properly to ‘white’ people than to people of color. This is a perverse way of thinking that divides people based on heritage and tone of skin into ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy’, paving the way to dehumanization." - Bishop Mark Seitz, "Night Will Be No More" (2019)
Day 9: The Standard is Justice
"Too many good and faithful Catholics remain unaware of the connection between institutional racism and the continued erosion of the sanctity of life. We are not finished with the work. The evil of racism festers in part because, as a nation, there has been very limited formal acknowledgement of the harm done to so many, no moment of atonement, no national process of reconciliation and, all too often a neglect of our history. Many of our institutions still harbor, and too many of of our laws still sanction, practices that deny justice and equal access to certain groups of people. God demands more from us. We cannot, therefore, look upon the progress against racism in recent decades and conclude that our current situtation meets the standard of justice. In fact, God demands what is right and just." - Open Wide Our Hearts, USCCB (2018)
"Racism is like the corn syrup of society - it's in everything." -Trevor Noah, The Daily Show, 6/10/2020
"Let the church proclaim to all that the sin of racism defiles the image of God and degrades the sacred dignity of humankind which has been revealed by the mystery of the Incarnation. Let all know that it is a terrible sin that mocks the cross of Christ and ridicules the Incarnation. For the brother and sister of our brother Jesus Christ are brother and sister to us." - Brothers and Sisters to Us, USCCB (1979)
Day 11: Racism is a sin against justice.
"The Lord said to Cain: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10).The voice of the blood shed by men continues to cry out, from generation to generation, in ever new and different ways.The Lord's question: "What have you done?", which Cain cannot escape, is addressed also to the people of today, to make them realize the extent and gravity of the attacks against life which continue to mark human history; to make them discover what causes these attacks and feeds them; and to make them ponder seriously the consequences which derive from these attacks for the existence of individuals and peoples." - Evangelum Vitae ,St. Pope John Paul II (1995)
Day 12: Racism is a sin against the dignity of the human person.
As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit . . . God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy." - I Corinthians 12:12-13;24-26
Day 13: Examen: Racism is a Soul Sickness
"If we are honest, racism is really about advancing, shoring up, and failing to oppose a system of white privilege and advantage based on skin color. When this system begins to shape our public choices, structure our common life together and becomes a tool of class, this is rightly called institutionalized racism. Action to build this system of hate and inaction to oppose its dismantling are what we rightly call white supremacy. This is the evil one and the ‘father of lies’ (John 8, 44) incarnate in our everyday choices and lifestyles, and our laws and institutions.
The theologian Father Bryan Massingale has aptly named all of this soul sickness. Truly we suffer from a life-threatening case of hardening of the heart. In a day when we prefer to think that prejudice and intolerance are problems of the past, we still find acceptable groups to treat as less than human, to look down upon and to fear." - Bishop Mark Seitz, "Night Will Be No More" (2019)
Day 14: Call to Action
"The injustice and harm racism causes are an attack on human life. The Church in the United States has spoken out consistently and forcefully against abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other forms of violence that threaten human life. It is not a secret that these attacks on human life have severely affected people of color, who are disproportionally affected by poverty, targeted for abortion, have less access to healthcare, have the greatest numbers on death row, and are most likely to feel pressure to end their lives when facing serious illness. As bishops, we unequivocally state that racism is a life issue. Accordingly, we will not cease to speak forcefully against and work toward ending racism. Racism directly places brother and sister against each other, violating the dignity inherent in each person. The Apostle James commands the Christian: “show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas 2:1)" - Open Wide Our Hearts, USCCB, 2018