Diocesan priests hear presentation on racism

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis addresses the priests of the diocese after the presentation on racism that was part of their May 14 spring convocation.

SALT LAKE CITY — As diocesan priests gathered for their spring convocation on May 14, they heard a two-part online presentation on racism by the Most Rev. Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La. Bishop Fabre is chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for African-American Catholics and a member of the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church.

In his comments to the priests, Bishop Oscar A. Solis said it was important to learn more about the topic of racism to help them become better shepherds of the people of God entrusted to their care.

Many priests, particularly those who are younger or who come from other countries, aren’t aware of the history of segregation in the U.S. Church, said Fr. Martin Diaz, chairman of the diocese’s Committee for the Ongoing Formation of Priests. He added that he hoped the information from Bishop Fabre’s presentation would help the priests “work in more just direction.”

Bishop Fabre focused his remarks on the USCCB’s “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – A Pastoral Letter Against Racism.” This document, approved in 2018, is the most recent pastoral letter on racism from the bishops, who published others in 1958, 1968 and 1979.

While the previous documents did result in some changes, “we have a long way to go, both inside and outside of the Church, to realize the harmony which we are called to as a human family,” Bishop Fabre said. “One wide and festering wound to our unity is the persistent evil of racism.”

The bishop grounded his presentation in several Church documents, including the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace’s 1988 document “The Church and Racism: Toward a More Fraternal Society.”

For example, the Catechism states, “The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design” (CCC 1935).

“It is clear teaching of the Church – in this statement and in countless others – that racism must be eradicated from our interpersonal and structural realities,” Bishop Fabre said.

However, “it seems to be evident that racial justice is not now, nor has it ever been, a passionate matter for American Catholics,” he said, adding that a conversion of heart is necessary.

Great strides have been made in laws against racist practices, but “racism is not only a problem before the law. Racism is a human, spiritual and pastoral problem. … My brother priests, racism negatively affects all of us, and we must work to root it out,” he said.

He urged the priests to preach against racism, although he acknowledged that speaking out “against these injustices can be challenging and may be received unfavorably. As we all know, prophets are not always welcome. This may cause us to initially be reluctant to answer the call to speak out against these evils and sins. However, just as the prophets of old, we must the carry out the commission given to us by the Lord.”

Priests and deacons “must preach on racism because it is an evil and sin that is an ongoing challenge for people in our church and our culture. … To not preach against racism is a missed opportunity to give guidance and direction to those entrusted to our pastoral care,” he said, and “the Church is uniquely qualified to bring the answer to the moral flaw that is racism, and that answer is a conversion of hearts.”

When preaching against racism, the homilist must root himself in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, Church values and the teaching of the Church regarding the dignity of the human person and other social teaching, he said. In addition to pointing out ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and do not follow the path of goodness, the homilist should urge people to follow the path of charity, justice, peace, the teaching of the Church and the love commandment of Jesus Christ, he said.

In his comments to the priests after Bishop Fabre’s presentation, Bishop Solis said he hoped the information they had just heard would help them become the kind of pastoral shepherds “the pope calls us to be … a sign of unity, of love and of peace in our diocese.”