The Insidiousness of Bigotry

This is the day after Doug Jones narrowly defeated Roy Moore for the remaining term of the Senate seat of Curtis Strange. I make it a habit to switch around from CNN to FOX to MSNBC to see what these outlets are saying in reaction to the headlines. I find it to be interesting and enlightening to hear views from across the political spectrum.

But today was a day that made me shout out loud at the TV (am I turning into THAT GUY?) when I was watching FOX and Friends. They had this great little story about two runners in a marathon in Dallas over the weekend - the woman who was going to take the women's title was collapsing just yards from the finish line, and a high-school relay runner stopped and helped her get across. A great story of compassion over competition and human kindness.

Now, it wasn't that FOX and Friends were the only ones who covered the story. As you can imagine, news outlets everywhere had this as part of their shows, with interviews of the two women, and praise from whatever news commentators were covering the story. But Steve Doocy, never one to waste an opportunity to say something inappropriate, commented that it was a good thing that it happened in the South, because if it had happened "in New York City or a lot of other places" no one would have stopped to help.

And there it is. An offhand comment that implies that "big cities" (even though this happened in Dallas), and people on the two coasts (even though the runner who had been helped was a psychiatric doctor in NYC!) are not compassionate or kind. This is the kind of insidious nature of bigotry that creeps into our brains if we are not constantly vigilant to reject it. It is like the comments that folks make about "those people" or when we see posts on Facebook and other places that show blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, and others in unflattering light.

Sometimes there are outright statements and opinions that show a person's bigotry - right after this story about the marathon, FOX and Friends had a short interview with Michele Malkin (another FOX commentator) who was screaming - and I am not really exaggerating - about how we can only prevent terror actions like the one the other day in NYC if we don't let in anyone who can't prove that they will help make America great. At least with those "in your face" arguments others can respond, but the offhand comment, the wink and nod of racist jokes and "humor", the bigotry by implication and innuendo is insidious and eats at our psyche and gets stuck in our subconscious.

If we want to begin to drive out racism, to help people see "the other" with compassion and human decency, to guard ourselves against this insidious bigotry, then maybe we have to raise our own awareness of when it is happening, and reject it from our thinking - and maybe it starts with shouting at the TV.

Stand in Support of Dreamers

Stand in Support of DREAMERS

Justice Perspective – September 2017

Deacon Don Weigel

Parents will do just about anything for their children.  Sacrifice is a quality that seems built in to being a parent, and protecting your children from danger, suffering, or threats to their life and well-being is both natural and expected.

Is it any wonder, then, why parents who were escaping dangerous conditions in their own land would bring their children with them? Or is it beyond belief that things could be so bad in some places that parents would send their children away – even alone – to find safety or a better life in another land?

Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to travel to places like El Salvador and Guatemala, and I have witnessed the poverty, crime, and gang culture that pervades those places and many of their neighboring countries as well. As beautiful as those countries are, and as genuine as their people are, the conditions under which they live can sometimes be so extremely dangerous or unlivable that they choose to flee their country in hopes for a better life in ours.

Put aside for the moment the actions of the parents who entered the U. S. without going through the proper procedures, and think about the children that they brought with them. For their children, brought into our country sometimes at a very young age, the U. S. is the only country they have really known; they have attended school, played with their classmates and neighbors, and as they have grown up they have worked and paid taxes, served in the military, or become leaders in their parishes or communities.

These children have been called DREAMERS, and in 2012, the Obama administration began a program called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which gave protection to these undocumented immigrants who came here as children, have lived here since 2007, and met other requirements. There are nearly 800,000 young people who have registered for this program and it has allowed them to work and study in the U.S.

For various political reasons, that program is now in jeopardy, and the DREAMERS now may face deportation – even if they have committed no crime, and have been contributing members of our society.

In order to protect them, a bipartisan bill has been introduced in both houses of Congress. It is called The Dream Act of 2017 (S.1615 in the Senate and H.R.3440 in the House of Representatives). The bill would provide young undocumented immigrants - who were brought to the United States as children and have lived in the U.S. at least four years - protection from deportation and an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements.

The US Bishops support this bill, and have always supported the DREAMERS  because as Catholics we believe in protecting the dignity of every human being, especially that of our children.

You can lend your support to the effort to pass this bill by going to www.justiceforimmigrants.org, the Bishops’ site for immigration issues, and tell your Senator and Representative to sponsor and support this bill that will ensure the dignity and security of DREAMERS. 

Our God Allows U-Turns!

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Easter - Year A 2017

As you drive around, I’m sure you have seen how a lot of churches use their signs out front to come up with catchy slogans or funny anecdotes. Maybe you’ve seen some like this:

·      “There are some questions that can’t be answered by Google”

·      “Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet him”

·         Sometimes they have an unintended meaning like this one: “Don’t let stress kill you – let the Church help!”

One church on French Road near my parents' house once had this one: “Our God allows U-turns. “

I was reminded of that sign when I was reflecting on the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They had just witnessed the execution of the “one that they had hoped would redeem Israel”, and they were leaving Jerusalem – maybe even fleeing Jerusalem – certainly confused, perhaps in fear. But then they encountered Jesus – and their encounter of the Lord caused them to make a U-turn, to go back to Jerusalem, to face whatever it was that was waiting for them there.

I see this U-turn in my ministry at Collins Correctional Facility. Just last Friday night I was once again visiting with some of the men inside who have decided to turn their lives over to Jesus. Some of them have done some pretty awful things – but because of their encounter with the risen Lord, they too have made this U-turn, to turn their lives around and face the difficult choice of walking as a disciple instead of their previous way of life. The conversions I have seen in that facility have amazed me, encouraged me, and touched my heart.

Some inmates in our country, however, are deprived of this opportunity for conversion because their lives are taken by capital punishment. Thankfully, we have suspended capital punishment in NY, but if you have been following the news you know that there have been 4 inmates executed in the past week in Arkansas – the first executions in 12 years. Ledell Lee, Marcel Williams, Jack H. Jones Jr., and Kenneth Williams, were all executed by lethal injection in Arkansas – and the hurried pace was the result of the fact that one of the drugs that they use in the procedure was due to expire at the end of this month.

Our US bishops have called for an end to the death penalty since at least 1980 – most prominently in a document from 2005 called “The Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death”.  They remind us that, in their words, we need to “abandon the illusion that we can protect life by taking life”. They go on to say that we must promote “a culture of life in which our nation will no longer try to teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. This cycle of violence diminishes all of us.”

Pope Francis said this a couple of years ago: “Today the death penalty is inadmissible, no matter how serious the crime committed. It is an offense against the inviolability of life and the dignity of the human person…It does not render justice to the victims, but rather fosters vengeance”.

But in spite of the teaching of our Bishops, in spite of the strong opposition to the death penalty of the last three Popes, and in spite of the fact that Jesus was the victim of capital punishment, half of the Catholics in the US still support the death penalty.  Half!! We need to make a U-turn of our own, away from the path of fear or revenge, or a misunderstanding of justice, or whatever causes us to support capital punishment.

Our bishops have called us to conversion and have suggested that we do four things:

1.    Pray for victims of crime, those facing execution, and those working in the criminal justice system;

2.    Reach out to the families of those affected by violent crime by bringing Christ’s love and compassion;

3.     Learn about the Church’s teaching on capital punishment and educate others;

4.    Advocate for better public policies to protect society and end the use of the death penalty.

Our God does, indeed, allow U-turns; and we who have encountered the Risen Jesus are called to turn away from capital punishment and to turn instead to embrace mercy, to embrace forgiveness, to embrace life.