Racial Justice reflection series – Chapter 3 Toward a More Adequate Catholic Engagement
“Laments name the pain present, and they forthrightly acknowledge that life and relationships have gone terribly wrong. They are uncivil, strident, harsh, and heart-rending. They are profound interruptions and claims to attention. Laments pierce the crusty calluses of numbness, cynicism, indifference, and denial.”(Massingale, 106)
The truths of Bryan Massingale’s book have pierced the crusty calluses of my understanding of racial justice in the Catholic Church. While the racism that exists in the church and our society is not completely new information to me, the way in which Fr. Massingale weaves cultural history, church history, theology, and stories from the oppressed together has more fully awakened me to the grave social sin of racism in the Church.
As I prayerfully wonder how I am called as a Catholic to engage with this reality, I turn to both the laments of the people of Israel found in the book of Psalms and to the modern day laments of the African American community. The laments present in the Book of Psalms are individual or communal calls to God that register a complaint, petition aid, pledge trust in God, and express hope in a more just future. I am jarred by their honest cries of pain in the midst of human suffering. I am humbled that despite the pain, the people of Israel still believe and trust in a God who hears their cries. I am in awe of their patient hope that ultimately God will guide them to a better place.
As I hear the individual and communal laments of modern day injustices in the African American community; including but not limited to–economic disparity, water crises, police brutality, inclusion in the church, access to education, fair housing, and access to medical care, my heart is pierced to acknowledge the sin of racism. As I hear these laments, it is important that I humbly listen to the individual and communal voices of the African American community so that I can hear their particular pain. It is equally important that in hearing these laments, I acknowledge the structures, institutions, and individual actions that continue to perpetuate the evils of racism.
As I wait in hope that God is guiding all of us to a place of justice, I cry out to God to hear my prayers and to enable me to walk in solidarity with the African American community.
Prayer for Dismantling Racism by the Sisters of Providence
Dear God, in our efforts to dismantle racism, we understand that we struggle not merely against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities – those institutions and systems that keep racism alive by perpetuating the lie that some members of the family are inferior and others superior. Create in us a new mind and heart that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial categories. Give us the grace and strength to rid ourselves of racial stereotypes that oppress some of us while providing entitlements to others. Help us to create a Church and nation that embraces the hopes and fears of oppressed People of Color where we live, as well as those around the world. Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Karen Thomas
Karen is a resident parishioner who has been a member of the SMSP community for the past 16 years. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and completed an MA in Pastoral Ministry at Marygrove College in Detroit.