The Catechism of the Catholic Church is not lengthy in its treatment of the topic of racism. But what it tells Catholics is powerful and to the point.  In a nutshell, racism is incompatible with God’s design.

 

The color of one’s skin, the accent spoken, the neighborhood one lives in or the money one makes does not and should not determine a person’s worth in God’s eyes. Nor should it determine a person’s worth in the eyes of their fellow human beings. 

 

In God’s eyes we are all His children, all part of His design and His gift to the world and each other.  To understand and embrace that truth and that teaching means that we would all treat each other with the same respect and same dignity. Anything less is not acceptable. Unfortunately, this is not the reality of our world today.

 

Beginning this week and continuing in future issues of The Observer, we will examine the experience of racism as experienced by Church leaders, as well as just how and what they are teaching amidst society’s call for change in regard to the treatment of people of color.

 

In this issue we start with an overview from Black Catholics and the U.S. Bishops, advice from both a saint and the priest who leads the diocesan parish named for her, a look at Church teachings on racism by our diocesan ethicist, and an “examination of conscience” to help each of us consider how racist we might be.