By Bishop Michael Warfel
I’m a NASCAR fan. For others like me, it has been a joy to view live races on TV. In order to resume running races (as a result of the need for social distancing), NASCAR officials developed protocols that allowed them to have live races which required no fans in the viewing stands. I suspect drivers may not even notice who or who is not in the stands until before and after a race.
On a race run in Atlanta on June 7, 2020, special attention was placed on the racial divide facing this country. There was an interview of Bubba Wallace, the sole African American driver. He related incidences in which he has experienced discrimination. Then a chaplain for the speedway offered a prayer. For this race, the chaplain was an African American pastor who prayed for healing. This was followed by the singing of the National Anthem. It was offered by an African American youth. I was struck by his passion as he sang but then by the second to last phrase of the Star Spangled Banner, i.e., “the land of the free.”
It is evident to me and to many others, that not every person in this land we call “the home of the brave” believes that they are “fully free.” Some people in our nation feel oppression and injustice more so than freedom and justice. It is true that the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…,” but soon after its adoption into the Constitution, the exception clause was craftily used by former slave owners and new industrialists to pass Jim Crow laws. Vague laws such as “criminal mischief” could lead to a renewed form of enslavement. They could then be used as cheap involuntary laborers. For former slaves who went North, life was not all that much better. I believe the United States has come a long way since the day of Reconstruction following the US Civil War, much as a result of the Civil Rights era of the 60s and 70s, but there is still a long way to go. I question, for example, why the African American population of the U.S. is 12% but represent 33% of the prison population. I ask myself, “Is racism systemic in the U.S.?” It certainly is perceived and experienced as such by many. Racism is a painful issue still facing our nation and the members of our diocese are not immune from its influence.
Recent protests, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, have drawn national attention to the issue. The focus has been on injustice felt by African Americans, but racism is hardly relegated historically to African Americans. Roughly 2 million Irish fled famine and British oppression in the 19th century and arrived on U.S. shores. The new immigrants were frequently despised by native born citizens who viewed them as the dregs of world society not to mention being Catholic. It is not all that different the way some view Latin immigrants in our own day. The experience was not that much different for Italian, Polish and Chinese immigrants. Certainly, Native Americans in our own State of Montana have experienced cultural genocide. Presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt held great hostility toward Native Americans. Roosevelt once gave a speech in which he made the hateful remark: “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are,” Racism has commanded a long historical presence in our nation, including Montana.
Whichever race or ethnic group a person comes from, each has been created in the image and likeness of God. As I heard an Evangelical pastor once say, “Race was God’s idea.” “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” (Open Wide Our Hearts, USCCB pastoral letter against racism, p. 3). Racism is an intrinsic evil which means there is never an occasion in which it is not a sin. It has no color or ethnicity but surfaces when a person or group maintains they are superior to another person or group based on their own race or ethnicity. It can be very subtle and may not outwardly manifest outrageous behavior. For example, a person could be a “bigot,” an Archie Bunker type, who categorizes people of other races within a preconceived stereotypical vision. Then there is the “avoider” who explains that he/she is uncomfortable around people who aren’t like him/her so only associates with like individuals or groups. There are those who are “insensitive” to structures of oppression, poverty and injustice. They just prefer to look the other way and wish the issue would go away. And there are those who are “apathetic,” who simply do not care about the issue because they know a life of privilege or just have other concerns they would prefer to address. All these attitudes and consequent behaviors are sinful – intrinsically sinful. They are intrinsically evil and racist, not just because the Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts that all of humanity is equal and deserving of what they require to live a dignified life (CCC #1935), but because it questions God’s creation and disobeys the commandment to love neighbor.
Laws in themselves do not usually change attitudes or values though they may modify behavior. What the Gospel seeks is transformation of attitudes and behaviors which comes from a conversion of the heart. A Christian understanding of conversion involves not only a turning away from the sin, but a turning toward the good, the holy. It is not sufficient simply to turn away from bigotry, avoidance, insensitivity, and apathy. Bigotry must be replaced by a fairmindedness that strives to understand legitimate claims of racism by a person or group of persons. Avoidance behavior must be replaced by a willingness to welcome others and be hospitable to them. Insensitivity to the hurts of other must convert instead to compassion with a desire to help heal wounds. Apathy must be exchanged for empathy and concern others, much like the Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel who stopped along the road to help a man who was beaten and robbed.
While laws do not necessarily focus on a change of attitudes or values, a society does need certain laws and authority to oversee them for the well-being of society and in order to protect its members from injustice, oppression and criminal acts. However, if hearts are not transformed, subtle forms of injustice (or even outward forms) may reign.
So, what is a follower of Christ to do? First, it is essential to view people – all people – as God views people and appreciate God’s purpose for creating people. God views all people as created in the divine image and likeness, even the worst of sinners. God has created all people to share life and the glory of God in heaven, even the worst of sinners. Apparently, not all people respond to God’s love, but the creative action of God is based in love and shared life: “God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him” (1John 4:16). To love, borrowing from a thought of St. Thomas Aquinas means not so much to feel love for another, but to desire the good of the other.
Secondly, it is important to listen empathetically. Too often, when difficult issues are addressed, people do not really listen because they have preconceived opinions that may not be based in reality. It is why I emphasize empathetic listening. Empathetic listening maintains respect and has a desire to understand what another, not only is saying, but what they are feeling and why. It seeks to get at truth. It is about dialogue between people with the goal of all parties deeply listening to each other as they share their stories. The ultimate goal is a transformation of minds and hearts whereby a given culture strives for unity with all its diversity.
Dialogue, as opposed to argument, discussion, or debate, demands that those engaged actually grasp what each other is saying if they expect constructively to exchange views. It means clearly articulating thoughts in plain and respectful speech. This means that we have spent time in study, reflection and prayer about the issue at hand. Dialogue requires a meek and humble heart (cf. Matt 11:28). Arrogance or offensive speech is simply out of place in dialogue. Confidence is essential, not only in our convictions and what we believe, but that the Holy Spirit is present and available when we attempt to work for the common good of society that has respect for all people. While labels are rarely helpful, knowing the background out of which people face an issue provides insight.
It is my prayer that the racial divide present in our nation as well as any hint of it in our diocese, may be faced honestly. It is my conviction that we, as members of the Catholic Church, must do our part in healing the divide. If but two people enter such an exchange over the issue of racism, it will be one more step forward toward addressing a matter that separates us rather than divides us.
Please help us continue
