SPIRITOFST.FRANCIS | ASK A FRANCISCAN By Pat McCloskey, OFM
Pat McCloskey, OFM
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What do I tell the students in my CCD class when they ask me what the Catholic Church says about systemic racism? As a white woman, I am considered by some people to be privileged. I raised two boys by myself and had to work for everything we had. What about the unborn babies who are being killed every day?
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ystemic racism slips under the radar of people who also often pride themselves as being very realistic and practical. They also frequently tell themselves and others, “Well, that’s just the way life is.” These same people usually benefit from a racism they refuse to acknowledge. I cannot defend every action taken by people opposing systemic racism, but neither can I deny that systemic racism exists. All of us need to keep telling ourselves the truth at deeper and deeper levels, far from the level that protects my feelings from any challenge. In one way or another, every sin begins with a lie that a person tells himself/herself—or that a group tells itself. The best way to reject blatant or subtle racism is to keep telling ourselves the truth. For Christians, that means the truth as we know it as baptized disciples of Jesus Christ. So, what should you tell your CCD class? Admit that the Catholic Church has not always named and opposed systemic racism as it should have. Jesus does not accept everything that we would like to call normal. The change will need to be on everyone’s part. The killing of unborn babies is an international disgrace, but that does not cancel the need to name and oppose systemic racism.
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Seeking the Purpose of My Life
Material is grouped thematically under headings such as forgiveness, Jesus, moral issues, prayer, saints, redemption, sacraments, Scripture—and many more!
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In the “winter” of my life, I look back and see basically an upward struggle to survive, especially as compared to giants of our faith such as Thomas à Kempis, William Carey, and the Apostle Paul. What has been the purpose of my life? Why was I ever born? What is the purpose of life for an average person such as myself?
he Baltimore Catechism opened with the question “Who made you?” and followed it with “Why did God make you?” It answered the first question with “God” and the second one
10 • May 2021 | StAnthonyMessenger.org
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Facing Up to Systemic Racism
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