The Catholic Church on Racism

 
The US Catholic Bishops have called all men and women of good will to eliminate racism as an essential part of creating a more just society and becoming more Christ-like.
 
What is Racism?

• Racism is a sin; a sin that divides the human family.
• Racism is an intrinsic evil
• Racism blots out the image of God among specific members of God’s family.
• Racism violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.
• Racism is a denial of the truth of the dignity of each human being revealed by the Incarnation.
• Racism is a radical evil and denies the new creation of a redeemed world.
• Racism and economic oppression are distinct but interrelated forces which dehumanize our society.

 
The Church is truly universal, embracing all races, for it is “the visible sacrament of this saving unity.” (Brothers and Sisters to Us, USCCB 1979). The Church at times has allowed conformity to social pressures to replace compliance with social justice. John Paul II says the Church must be aware of the threats to humanity and of all that opposes the endeavor to make life itself more human. The Church must strive to make every element of human life correspond to the true dignity of the human person.
 
There needs to be a radical transformation, in our own minds and hearts as well as in the structure of our society. Conversion is the ever present task of each Christian.
 
Equality does not mean uniformity. It is important to recognize the diversity and complementarity of one another’s culture riches and moral qualities. No human group can boast of having a natural superiority over others, or of exercising any discrimination that affects the basic rights of the person. These acts of discrimination must be denounced and brought to light without hesitation and strongly rejected in order to promote equitable behavior, legislative dispositions and social structures. (Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace, 1988)
 
Moving Beyond Racism: Learning to See with the Eyes of Christ Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Bishops of Chicago 2000

• Racism exists here in America
• Racism is completely contrary to the Gospel of Jesus
• All baptized Catholics have a moral obligation to work toward the elimination of Racism
• Racism can be personal but also institutional, in judicial, medical, social and educational arenas.
• Racism is not based on divine truth but on personal insecurity, self-deception and idolatry of racial superiority.

 
 
Reflection Questions:
 
Am I a prisoner of fear and prejudice?
What action can I take to affirm and respect difference and reject discrimination? (www.educationfor justice.org)

Consistent Ethic of Life

 
The Catholic Church Teaching on Life:

• God is the Author of Life from its beginning until its natural end.
• All life is sacred from the moment of conception through natural death.
• Humans do not enjoy absolute freedom of actions. The right to freedom is limited by consideration of others (both in the womb and in the world)
• The family is the sanctuary where life is welcomed, protected and respected throughout the life cycle.
• The “Consistent Ethic of Life” is at the heart of the Church’s teaching.

 
What is the Consistent Ethic of Life?
 
The substance of a Catholic position on a consistent ethic of life is rooted in a religious vision that acknowledges God as the creator and destiny of human life. It is God who establishes the centrality and sacred meaning of life and existence.
 
The consistent ethic of life was articulated as such by Cardinal Joseph Bernadin in 1983. He connected the Church’s underlying teaching of protecting life at every stage to the various threats to human life brought about with advances in technology.

• Is a moral vision for life in the community
• Is at the heart of the gospel
• Is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching
• Human life is ordered and protected in a social context – by the rules and laws formulated in a society   

Gaudium et Spes
Church in the Modern World
 
Because of this essential sociality that orders society to the good of the person,
Society, in turn, bears a duty to foster, promote, and to protect human life –
From conception to natural death (GS #12)

 

• Contradicts the current American legal system’s vision that maintains that human beings are a means and not an end in themselves.
• The moral law is at odds with the civil law.
• The threats to human life can at times be legal as well as technological

 
If one contends as we do in the Church, that the right of every fetus to be born should be protected by civil law and supported by civil consensus, then our moral, political and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker.
The right to life and quality of life complement each other in domestic social policy.
 
Reflection Questions:

1. In an age when we can do almost anything, how do we decide what we ought to do?
2. Do I think the death penalty, cloning, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia go against the consistent ethic of life? Why or why not?

(Education for Justice; Catechism of the Catholic Church)

The Concept of Social and Structural Sin

Part II

Social Sin: Is the result of the accumulation and concentration of many personal sins. It results from situations which promote individual acts of selfishness which impact the wider society. It is a direct assault on one’s neighbor.

How can I recognize social sin?

• Every sin against the rights of the human person, starting with the right to life.
• Every sin against the integrity of the individual.
• Every sin against the freedom of others especially the freedom to worship God.
• Every sin against the dignity and honor of one’s neighbor.
• Every sin against the common good and its demands in the whole broad area of rights and duties.

Some examples in today’s society are:

• Ignoring the social sin of genocide, because it does not affect me personally (i.e. Darfur, Rwanda)
• Grouping all immigrants together and blaming them for the joblessness in our country, or for making health care costs rise.
• Blaming groups of peoples for the crime rate in our communities.
• Allowing my selfishness to adversely impact the plight of others less fortunate than myself.

How can I recognize structural sin?

• The all-consuming desire for profit at the expense of people.
• The thirst for power to impose your will upon others.
• Every sin that dominate relationships between individuals and groups of people.
• Every sin that exploits others or oppresses groups of people or nations.
• Every sin that promotes the inequalities between rich and poor nations and peoples.

Some examples in today’s society are:

• The use of child labor in other countries to produce the goods to be sold here to allow us to buy cheaper.
• The practice of “modern slavery” of workers overseas (wages of $1-$5 a day) or migrant farm workers here in the USA to increase profits for corporations and to allow us to buy things cheaper.
• Human trafficking of children and women (Yes in the USA), often for sexual exploitation.
• Wages for women are still often unequal to men in the same position
• Promote policies that diminish the well being of the poor yet support policies that enrich others with financial means (cuts in social services yet keeping the subsidy for homeowners, allowing us to write off the interest we pay on our mortgages.

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. For," Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.” 1 Peter 3: 8-12
(Education for Justice www.educationforjustice.org )

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