Each one of us must ask how we contribute to the racist climate that seems only to grow stronger in spite of our best efforts at legislative and social remedies. Whether we are victims of racism or its perpetrators, we must begin on our knees.
Like any other spiritual transformation or renewal, conversion must begin with an honest and a sincere admission that we need God's trans-formative power in our lives to achieve any real change, no matter the perspective from which we might begin.
We must refine our evangelization efforts, catechesis, and social-justice teaching to ensure that our people fully understand that religious formation and principles can never be disassociated from any aspect of our daily lives, including our political choices.
We must remind our people that a great majority of Catholics including their own families were once themselves immigrants forced to endure the nativist bigotry of earlier generations who spoke about Catholics with the same disparaging vitriol being hurled at the new immigrants of now.
There are many serious and knotty issues that I must face each day, but the Pope Francis reminds me by his example and his words that Christ has already redeemed creation and we are saved, even when that might not be so obvious because of the world's many problems and our own grievous sinfulness.
There was unusual unanimity on our pastoral responsibility to care for the immigrants in our midst no matter their country of origin or religious affiliation.
Pope Francis has helped me to focus once again on the joy in my pastoral ministry. He has challenged me genuinely to believe that the Gospel is and should be the source of the church's joy. His own approachable, cheerful, and hopeful style in exercising the papacy reminds me that shepherds must exude joy or they will fail to lead anyone else to discover it.
I have to try to remind people on both sides of the barque of Peter that there is room for us all and that we are not the first generation of Catholics to experience serious theological and pastoral differences of opinion. In fact, from the New Testament, strong leaders within the church disagreed openly. Eventually, the truly great ones found ways to heal conflicts and keep the Lord's flock united.
In one sense, no act of reparation will be satisfactory for those whose lives were so under-valued both as human beings held in slavery and then as human chattel to satisfy the financial indebtedness of a Catholic institution. Nonetheless, the university must also put into place - as it is attempting to do - a program that both admits the horror and error of its past actions and directs its students, faculty, and administrations to an awareness of the dignity of all people, especially those who even today are often considered less than worthy of respect and dignity.
Many priests say that retirement is more identified with freedom from meetings, budgets, personnel conflicts, and "dealing with the Chancery." Even as I struggled not to take that last point too personally, I was reminded that I have heard the same sentiment from many of my bishop friends as well!
If those who voice opposition to Pope Francis and the direction in which he is leading the church come from other nations but their statements are published on American media platforms, it may appear that they originate in this country or reflect our sentiments. We have our own dissident voices to be sure, but too frequently every challenging voice that criticizes the Holy Father and is broadcast on American media is identified as American in origin.
For better or worse, the United States enjoys the lion's share of public and media attention. We influence much of the conversation on social and public media by sheer volume.
