Introduction

Journal of Catholic Social Thought
Volume 3 Number 1
Winter - 2006

 

Catholic Social Thought and Racism
Barbara Wall
Villanova University 

 

“Racism is not merely one sin among many; it is a radical evil that divides the human family and denies the new creation of a redeemed world. To struggle against it demands an equally radical transformation, in our minds and hearts as well as in the structure of our society.”

“Racism and economic oppression are distinct but interrelated forces which dehumanize our society. Movement toward authentic justice demands a simultaneous attack on both evils.”

 

The current “economic crisis reveals an unresolved racism that permeates our society’s structures and resides in the hearts of many among the majority.”

Brothers and Sisters to Us – U.S. Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter on Racism, 1979.  

 

            Racism has been part of human history for many centuries and is manifested in slavery, genocide, segregation, exclusion and prejudice.  The fifteenth century, often characterized as the age of discovery, can also be characterized as an age that was not very kind to native peoples, especially the peoples of Africa and the Americas who were defined as less than human, and hence, naturally determined to be dominated by others.  Pope Urban VIII condemned slave trade in 1639, and Pope Gregory XVI repeated the condemnation. 

            Pope Leo XIII decried slavery as a form of institutional racism in 1888 and 1890.  This condemnation was accepted by the American Catholic Church; however racial equality was not supported by the Church.  Catholic laity, bishops, priests and religious orders were slaveholders.  Prior to the twentieth century, the common teaching of the Catholic Church held that the political, social, economic, and legal institution of slavery was morally acceptable as long as slaves were properly cared for materially and spiritually.  It was only after the claims for racial equality of the 1960’s and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that the American Catholic Church began actively addressing the reality of racism within the church and society.

In 2004 we marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Brothers and Sisters to Us: Pastoral Letter of the United States Bishops which addressed racism in the church and society as sinful and evil.  In the tradition of St. Augustine, the United States bishops focused on the long held belief that all people are created in the image and likeness of God.  The pastoral of 1979 was the third such pastoral on racism with the others occurring in 1958 and 1968.

            The U.S. bishops examined the fact that racism exists in work environments, education, housing and the criminal justice system in the United States.  In the tradition of Catholic social teaching, the bishops denounced the past history of slavery, economic exploitation and cultural repression as part of our cultural heritage.  Oppression of others predicated on racism denies the intrinsic dignity of each person and diminishes the solidarity of the human community.

            In 1988, the Vatican published The Church and Racism: Statement of the Pontifical Justice and Peace Commission, which was the first Vatican document focused solely on racism.  The Vatican document denounced the existence of racial prejudice throughout the world, and claimed that we must never forget the crimes and consequences of such events as Nazi racism, treatment of indigenous people, institutional racism of apartheid, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and anti-Semitism.

            This issue of the Journal of Catholic Social Thought attempts to address the continued struggle to achieve racial equality in employment, housing, education.  David Cochran provides a moral framework crafted from the tradition of Catholic social teaching on issues of racial and ethnic diversity in the United States.  The historical and theological perspectives of the Catholic Church’s attempt to address the contemporary complexities of racism in the United States and Asia are found in the articles by Shawn Copeland, Albert Raboteau, Laurie Cassidy and Peter Phan.

            Mary Jo Bane, Douglas Massey and Robert DeFina provide us with data on the continued existence of racism in the fabric of our society.  Mary Jo Bane’s article reports that “racial differences in poverty rates reflect differences in family structure and education.  Finding residual differences, it explores the importance of racial stigma, racial discrimination and racial segregation.”  Douglas Massey addresses the issue of racism evident in the continued housing segregation of African Americans.  Massey claims that “desegregation is a human rights issue that should receive bipartisan support from across the political spectrum.”  Robert DeFina offers related research on housing segregation and explores the need for Catholic social teaching to address the issue of housing segregation which has not been done in any prophetic manner.

            Perhaps racism is nowhere more evident than in the criminal justice system in the United States.  John DiIulio and William Waegel address the need for a criminal justice system that reflects the call of the American Catholic Bishops for “restorative justice.”  There is a need to reform a criminal justice system predicated on punishment, deterrence and incapacitation to a criminal justice system that is predicated on treatment, rehabilitation and restoration of incarcerated people to the community.

            The effects of racism on educational institutions and practice are addressed by Gary Orfield in a challenging and thoughtful call to action.  Orfield claims that the shortcomings of dealing with racism in American culture “lies not in the doctrines but in the church’s failure of omission and of commission in choosing what to emphasize in its growing role in American public life and failing to understand the social consequences of the tacit alliances it has formed with forces in America politics that have actually moved the country backward toward greater racial separation and inequality.”  Alberto Pulido and Hosffman Ospino provide challenges to Catholic higher education and the theological formation of ministerial formation programs.

            The editors hope that this issue will provoke more thorough discussion of racism and encourage prophetic application of the principles of Catholic social teaching to ensure the elimination of racism in our Church and society.