Social Justice Bulletin #6: The Sin of Racism

Contributed by: Sister Pat Wittberg, S.C.

November was Black Catholic History Month.  In honor of this, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, DC, has written a new pastoral letter: “The Challenge of Racism Today.”  In this, he echoes the words of our last three popes and numerous bishops, who have all taught that racism is a sin.  As St. John Paul II bluntly said in 2001: “Racism is a sin that constitutes a serious offense against God.”  This sin affects every nation’s history, whenever its citizens and leaders allow the marginalization of indigenous people, newcomers, or whoever is “different.”  But the cardinal noted that, “in our homeland, the most profound and extensive evidence of racism lies in the sin of centuries of human trafficking, enslavement, segregation and the lingering effects experienced by African-American men, women, and children.”

And yet, we see the rise of groups whose avowed purpose is to maintain the superiority of one category of people over others.  The leader of one of these groups, Richard Spencer, will be speaking in Cincinnati this spring.  We need to counter these messages of hate with one of love, for as Cardinal Wuerl stated, “we are all children of the same loving God.”

To read Cardinal Wuerl’s pastoral letter: http://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/The-Challenge-of-Racism-Today-Pastoral-Letter.pdf

To become involved: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/index.cfm