Catholic Diocese Tucson

14 CATHOLIC OUTLOOK MAY 2019 Second in a series In the November 2018 pastoral letter against racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts,” the US Catholic bishops urge all Catholics to acknowledge “the scourge of racism” that still exists in our hearts, words, actions and institutions. Racism can be individual, when persons fail to recognize certain groups as created in the image of God and equal in dignity, or it can be systemic, where practices or policies treat certain groups of people unjustly. One important systemic issue is race- based economic inequality. As Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium , “Inequality is the root of social ills.” In his 2015 address to Congress, the pope spoke of US economic inequality, challenging leaders and all Americans to work for the common good so that every individual, created in God’s image, can flourish. The US bishops have long advocated for economic justice so that all persons may thrive. In the US, median wealth for white households is 10 times greater than for black households, and eight times greater than for Hispanic households. This is a significantly larger gap than many Americans perceive. Currently, Native Americans, blacks and Hispanics also experience poverty at roughly twice or more than twice the rate of whites. For the typical household, two- thirds of wealth comes from housing equity, such that the wealth gap between white and black households is largely the story of work and housing policies that have created obstacles for African Americans to achieve home and land ownership for generations. Despite the gains of the Civil Rights movement, barriers in education, employment, and housing still exist today and all contribute to racial economic inequality. For Native Americans, colonial and later US policies led to the loss of land, restrictions in self-governance and economic devastation that left a legacy of low educational attainment and unemployment rates that remain among the highest in the country. Income gaps across racial and ethnic groups have narrowed only slightly in the last few decades. For example, lower-income African Americans made 47 percent as much as low-income whites in 1970 and in 2016, they made 54 percent as much as white counterparts. Hispanics of all income categories actually fell further behind during this same period. In 2017, The Harvard University Business School Review documented that hiring discrimination against African Americans has not declined in the past 25 years. The 2018 annual report of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University found a widening gap in homeownership in recent decades, with current rates at 72 percent for whites and 43 percent for blacks. It is evident that many minority families still face challenges in achieving homeownership and economic equality. For more information “Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice” http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/ human-life-and-dignity/criminal-justice- restorative-justice/crime-and-criminal-justice.cfm Pray with St. John Paul II “Lord God, our Father, you created the human being, man and woman, in your image and likeness, and you willed the diversity of peoples within the unity of the human family. At times, however, the equality of your sons and daughters has not been acknowledged, and Christians have been guilty of attitudes of rejection and exclusion, consenting to acts of discrimination on the basis of racial and ethnic difference. Forgive us and grant us the grace to heal the wounds still present in your community on account of sin, so that we will all feel ourselves to be your sons and daughters.” (Universal Prayer on the Day of Pardon) Racial economic inequality manifest through income gap Copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration for nonprofit educational use, provided such reprints are not sold and include this notice. All photos © iStock Photo. Models used for illustrative purposes. This resource and many others are available at usccb.org/racism. Prayer from Pope John Paul II, Universal Prayer, March 12, 2000, copyright © 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), Vatican City. Used with permission. All rights reserved.