Moving Beyond Racism:
Learning to See with the Eyes of Christ
Bishops of Illinois

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

God’s wondrous generosity to the human family was made visible in Jesus’ welcoming, during his earthly ministry, all that sought the light of truth. Jesus, even before his resurrection, entered the lives of Samaritans, Pharisees, Roman occupiers, tax collectors, sinners, the powerful and very ordinary people. Through love and the healing that comes from love, he redefined their relationship to his Father and to one another by welcoming them to himself.

In the Gospels, Jesus speaks with authority (Mk.1: 27). This authority comes from his being anointed with divine Sonship; this authority comes clear in Jesus’ speaking divine truth in human words. When he ascended into heaven, Jesus imparted that same authority to the apostles and their successors in the Church, the bishops, telling them to go forth and teach all nations (Mt.28: 18-20). Conscious of that charge, bishops teach what the faith tells us is true and, in the light of faith, address those contemporary moral and social issues, which affect the basic human dignity Christ restored. We, with all men and women of faith, look at the world with eyes of Christ.

Some years back, concerned Catholics actively involved in ministry in the African American community asked the bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago (the State of Illinois) to speak to the sin of racism in our society. It disturbed us to hear again reports that people of color were sometimes made to feel unwelcome, even in Catholic parishes. In this letter, we, the Catholic Bishops of Illinois, desire to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by speaking to a grave personal and social evil: the sin of racism.

We begin with three facts. First, racism exists here; it is part of the American landscape. Second, racism is completely contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Third, all baptized Catholics have a moral obligation to work toward the elimination of racism.

What is meant by racism? Racism is a personal sin and social disorder rooted in the belief that one race is superior to another. It involves not only prejudice but also the use of religious, social, political, economic or historical power to keep one race privileged.

Racism exists, in some form, among all peoples; in any form it is intolerable and unacceptable. This document focuses on racism against African Americans, because the centuries old Black-White dynamic in this country seems to bear deeper dimensions of prejudice than any other form of racism. Addressing the complexity of the Black-White division, however, will help us address all forms of ethnic and racial injustice, no matter where or how it manifests itself.

Racism is personal, institutional, cultural and internal. Personal racism shows itself in an attitude or action taken by an individual to diminish the God-given dignity or rights of another because of race. An example of personal racism in action is the verbal or mental demeaning of African Americans simply because of their color.

Institutional racism allows racist attitudes or practices to shape the structures of an organization. Institutional racism reveals itself, for example, when promotions are manipulated so that African Americans are not fairly considered for certain positions.

Cultural racism is the extension of this sinful attitude to the mores, standards, customs, language and group life of a whole society. One culture’s ways of thinking and behaving are then regarded as the only way to live. All other social patterns are dismissed as deviations or dangers.Internalized racism is a sense of inferiority or lack of self-esteem because one belongs to a particular race. When an African American child grows up believing that to be Black is inferior, he or she is a victim of internalized racism.

The teaching of the U.S. bishops on racism has been forthright and clear:

Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father (Brothers and Sisters to Us; Washington, D.C., 1979, page 3).

Racism distorts the word of God in both the Old and New Testaments (Genesis 1: 26; Galatians 3: 27-29). The Holy Scriptures insist that every person is formed in the image and likeness of God and that all are one in Christ Jesus. Rather than being built on the firm foundation of divine truth, racism is built on the shifting sands of personal insecurity, self-deception and the idolatry of racial superiority.

Since the publication of Brothers and Sisters to Us twenty years ago, some progress has been made in the struggle to overcome the sin of racism. African Americans have been elected to public office and risen to leadership positions, ordained, religious and lay, in the Church and in businesses. The number of African American youth who are attending college is steadily increasing, and the gap between the median income of African Americans and other Americans is slowly shrinking. There are real changes in the growth of a sense of fairness and in levels of attainment by African Americans in the general society.

These and other signs of change in attitudes and behavior have lulled some into thinking that the battle against racism is almost won. That is not the case. Events continue to remind us that racism thrives. Look at the brutal and racially motivated death by dragging last year of an African American in Texas. Consider the more recent aggravated sexual assault on a Haitian prisoner by members of the Brooklyn Police force. Search the web sites filled with racially charged hate speech on the Internet. All this is so blatantly racist that it can shock and therefore move us to ask again how to confront more effectively the sin of racism.

Any confrontation cannot ignore the more subtle forms of racist actions: realtors who manipulate sales and steer clients along racial lines; law enforcement officers who routinely profile black drivers for police checks; department store detectives who automatically follow young Black males; parents who drive past an excellent school to register their children at another because a substantial number of the students in the first school are African American; groups who deliberately avoid contact with racially diverse or culturally different communities.

Almost unconsciously, the sin of racism can touch and stain every aspect of life, from friendships to work relationships, from where people recreate to what programs they watch on television. Given the long history of racism in our country, how can anyone hope to abolish at last this moral plague?

In his apostolic letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente (On the Coming of the Third Millennium), Pope John Paul II invites us to "broaden our horizons" and so "see things from the perspective of Christ." This vision gives hope. At the beginning of the Third Millennium, all have an opportunity to be renewed in the Father’s everlasting love. We have an opportunity to see the world and its peoples through the eyes of Christ. We are given the chance to open ourselves to the Spirit.

The new millennium is a time for us to say with one voice: "We will not live with the sin of racism any longer. Racism must end now." But to make that declaration ring true, we must turn our lives over to the Divine Redeemer who alone can save and transform us. Through Christ’s gracious power, we can come to a conversion of heart, commit ourselves to change and live in hope.

Conversion of Heart

Conversion is the response to God’s self-revelation as love. Infinite love calls us to a transformation of mind and heart, a turning away from sin and an embrace of God’s way for us. Once converted, our eyes are opened; we see what is truly important. We become, with God’s grace, free, responsible and holy.

Conversion changes individuals, and individuals change society. Overcoming the sin of racism begins by opening ourselves to God’s Spirit, who draws all to holiness. The Spirit makes each of us a member of the Body of Christ, and this spiritual relationship is the source of our hope for personal and social change. In Christ, we recognize racism as a division contrary to his will for his people, a division the Spirit will heal.

Commitment to Change

Relying on God’s grace, seeing with Christ’s eyes, living in the Holy Spirit, what should we do to dismantle racism? Concrete, visible steps will vary from diocese to diocese, from community to community. Here are some actions, some small and some larger, which all can take:

• Pray for an end to racism.

• Take a personal inventory of your own heart and discover what has to change.

• Seek opportunities to know and learn from a person of a different race.

• Identify racist behavior in our community, speak with others and make plans to oppose it.

• Refuse to use biased language and to tell jokes tinged with racist attitudes.

• Teach children to move beyond mere toleration and to accept open-heartedly people of all races.

• Avoid investing in companies which support or practice racist policies and tell the company why you are withdrawing your money.

• Elect public officials who work for racial justice.

• Join community groups, which nurture relationships of trust among peoples of different races and ethnic groups.

• Be critical of how violent crime is focused on and reported; ask media people to publicize good people and actions in every racial group.

• Have your parish sponsor workshops which both present racism in all its complexity and evaluate it morally.

• Help organize ecumenical prayer services inclusive of different racial and ethnic groups.

• Speak and live the truth that you acquire by seeing with the eyes of Christ.

Living with Hope

The theological virtue of hope is not the same as wishing for the impossible. Christian hope stirs up in us the desire that God’s kingdom come, here and in eternity. We place our trust in the promises of Christ and rely on his grace rather than on our own strength.

It would be naïve to think that racism will disappear overnight; it is too deeply embedded in the American experience. But change will come if we remain constant and never lose sight of the goal. The goal is visible when we see with the eyes of Christ, for our hope of ultimate victory is the Lord who desires that we be one in him.

As the bishops of the Catholic Church in Illinois, we commit ourselves to speak the truth about racism. We commit ourselves to encouraging dialogue between African Americans and other Americans. We commit ourselves to model in our dioceses a future without racism. Confident in the Lord, we invite all Catholics in Illinois, and all men and women of good will, to join us in the struggle against racism so that, one day, we may all be free.

The springtime for the Gospel which Pope John Paul II prays will mark the new millennium will be a time free of the sin of racism. The time is now; let the place be our dioceses and our State.

April 4, 2000

Anniversary of the Assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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