The issue of racism

[Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on forums and discussions about issue of racism that are taking place in the Diocese of Paterson.]

POMPTON LAKES  A small group of faithful of St. Mary Parish here are learning — or are being reminded — that racism isn’t only caused by the hateful acts of individuals but more pervasively by a long-standing social and political system in the U.S. designed to maintain the “status quo” of inequality for people of color.

This fall, about 15 parishioners of St. Mary’s, a faith community run by Franciscan Friars, joined in a discussion about the emotionally charged topic of race with 45 others from parishes in the Northeast — all of them part of the religious order’s Holy Name Province — for an online forum, “Let’s Talk About Racism.” During this six-week Zoom video conference, which started on Oct. 15, participants have been learning about the sin of white privilege and how to confront racism and enact change.

The sessions for “Let’s Talk about Racism” are held on Thursdays, from 7 to 8 p.m. and will conclude on Nov. 19. They have included participation from a few people of color, many of whom have shared their experiences of racism with the mostly white group, said Franciscan Father John Aherne, a St. Mary’s parochial vicar, who developed the series with three other Franciscans and serves as one of the moderators of the virtual discussions.

“We wanted to help people understand that racism is caused by a system of discrimination in society. I’m impressed about how open people are in discussing their experiences, even about their own implicit racial biases, which we all have,” said Father Aherne, who noted that moderators facilitate the sessions often with help from videos and related texts. “This is not leftist propaganda. We want to create a space where people can talk about the sin of racism in this country so we can help change it together and move forward into the future,” he said.

During the series, moderators will explore the Church’s teachings against racism. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has condemned racism, which it states, “still profoundly affects our culture” and “has no place in the Christian heart. This evil causes great harm to its victims and it corrupts the souls of those who harbor racist or prejudicial thoughts.”

Racism in the form of what St. Pope John Paul II called a “structural sin” can be institutionalized, Father Aherne said.

The first session examined people’s implicit racial biases while the next one dealt with why it is so difficult for people to talk about race. The third and fourth sessions will feature videos of black people — two young men, a woman raising children and a 50-year-old man — who offer their perspectives of being black in the U.S. In previewing the videos, Father Aherne said he was taken aback that the black mother taught her children to hold up their receipts before exiting a store so they are not accused of theft or get shot.

The fifth session will deal with racism and the Catholic Church — its teachings against racism; efforts to counter racism, such as St. Katherine Drexel’s work to educate people of color; and sometimes its complicity in racism. At one time, religious communities in the U.S. owned slaves, Father Aherne said. In the sixth and final session, participants will ask, “What can we do?” in combating racism. Sessions begin and end with prayer and contain 30 minutes of teaching, followed by discussions in small breakout groups.

The second session featured two videos, including one of a talk by Robin DiAngelo, author of “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism.” She asserts that white people benefit from racist structures in society that create inequity for people of color. Frequently white people do not want to talk about this inequality because they are insulated from it, are uninformed about it or refuse to see it, she said.

“We — including white progressives — need to be continually educated about racism. We need to use white people’s lack of comfort on the issue as a way into talking about it,” DiAngelo said.

After the breakout groups for the second session, Father Aherne praised participants for engaging in “a respectful conversation on the difficult subject of racism — one of our biggest problems to overcome.”

The group ended with a prayer that the “fire of the Spirit burn away our prejudices and preconceptions. Let the peace of the Spirit quiet our hearts and minds so that we can listen clearly and speak openly and let the wings of the Spirit aid us in doing God’s will.”

The idea for the “Let’s Talk About Racism” series started in the wake of the death of George Floyd, initiated by Father Aherne; Brother Paul O’Keeffe of St. Anthony Shrine in Boston; Maria Hayes, Holy Name Province’s marketing director in New York City; and Brother Jay Woods at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii in Chicago. At first, team members conducted an online racism series for young adults, 21–35 years old, which was so successful that they opened it up to people of all ages this fall. They will consider holding a series for another group in the future depending on interest, Father Aherne said.

One of the participants, Jeanne Michaud, a St. Mary parishioner for the past six years, was interested in the series, having previously read up on the subject of racism.

“In the break out sessions, we shared our realizations and experiences about race so we could be more truthful to ourselves,” said Michaud, who grew up in a “whites-only” apartment complex in the Bronx, N.Y. “I now understand my white privilege and racial bias and I want to do something [to combat racism],” she said.