Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • April 20, 2018 11 Only two days after this entry, on July 3, the bishop wrote that he had received letters from two black families requesting admission of their children to schools “which we have considered white.” He laments being in an embarrassing position, feeling that “a bit more preparation of our whites is pru- dent.” No doubt the bishop was sens- ing great tension in the air. Only two weeks earlier, the field sec- retary for the NAACP, Medgar Evers, had been assassinated, and once again the nation’s attention was on Mississippi. The immedi- ate aftermath of the assassination saw Gerow in a political role to which he was naturally averse. In his diary, he wrote “Up to this time, I have refrained from making any public statements in the newspaper. At times I would feel that maybe it would do good, and at other times, I felt that our work might be better accomplished by working quietly with our committee [of religious leaders].” He had been active in drawing together white min- isters in the various churches in Jackson for some time, and in fact had arranged for a meeting that included black ministers only five weeks earlier. The groups had hoped that their combined voices might thaw the icy re- lationship between blacks and the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. But after the assassination, the bishop felt compelled to make a public statement which he shared with the press. The statement, published June 14, two days after Evers’ death, begins with an assurance of prayer for his wife and children. He had reached out personally to Evers’ widow Myrlie, commenting in his diary that their children were students at the Catholic school in Jackson. He points to the shared guilt for his death among all people, in light of the racial situation, but also points to the failure of responsible leadership. Like the 1958 NCWC document on race, Gerow’s statement recalls the Declaration of Independence and its recog- nition of the self-evident truth of equality before God. He prays that leaders will take “some positive steps” toward solving the crisis, though does not identify what those might be. The Evers assassination had pushed Gerow to a more public position on the race question, and at the time that meant taking a strong moral stand. Yet with Cabirac’s address, Gerow found himself facing a very practical question: namely, what to do about the inte- gration of schools which, he was certain, had to happen someday. In his letter to pastors of June 19, 1963, he stresses the need for them to speak to their congregants about race, impressing upon them “that we are not ask- ing for the granting of concessions to the Negro but for a recognition of his rights.” The opportunity to act decisively happened one year later, July 2, 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act. Bishop Gerow is- sued a statement to the press the next day. Each of us, bearing in mind Christ’s law of love, can establish his own personal motive of reaction to the Bill and thus turn this time into an occasion of spiritual growth. The prophets of strife and distress need not be right. On August 6, the bishop published a letter to be read in all churches the subsequent Sunday (August 9), indicating that “qualified Catholic children” would be admitted to the first grade without respect to race. He called on all Catholics to “a true Christian spirit by their acceptance of and cooperation in the implementa- tion of this policy.” In a letter to his chancellor, Gerow describes this move as “more in accord with Christian principle than of segregation.” The following year, he desegregated all the grades in Catholic schools. Senator Hubert Humphrey, the floor manager of the Civil Rights bill in the U.S. Senate, went on record saying that churches were “the most important force at work” in the movement. Today, Humphrey’s observa- tion offers a challenge to us as we continue to confront racism. The church can serve not only as a moral voice on society’s toughest issues, but also can a staging ground within her own institutional structures for the transformation that we hope to bring about in society. In recent months, we have also seen tragic examples of racially motivated hate crimes. Later this year, the U.S. Bishops plan to release their first pastoral letter on racism in nearly forty years. Mindful of the gifts that people of all races bring to the community of faith, and of the need to work towards a just social order, USCCB President Cardinal Daniel DiNardo said at the launch- ing of the racism task force last August, “The vile chants of violence against African Americans and other people of color, the Jewish people, im- migrants, and others offend our faith, but unite our resolve. Let us not allow the forces of hate to deny the intrinsic dignity of ev- ery human person.” Also, later this year is the Fifth Encuentro , a gathering of Hispanics which highlights the graces in this largest-growing segment of the US Catholic pop- ulation. This historic convening is taking place as questions of immigration dominate our politi- cal discourse, especially the fate of the young, so-called “Dream- ers,” who have lived in this country most of their lives and yet have no place in it. Indeed we face many important moral questions, that the Church must struggle with today which will have many ramifications for the future. For over a hundred years, Catholic Extension has been serving dioceses with large pop- ulations of the poor, the marginalized, and people of color, and have sent millions of dollars to ensure that they have infrastructure and well-trained Church lead- ers that will form them for positive social change. Our dream is that these leaders will, in the words of Pope Francis, “awaken what is deepest and truest” in the life of the people, and ultimately be the catalyst of transformation in their communities. The examples of Bishop Gerow provide important lessons for how that might happen. Despite the complex political and historical factors regarding the question of desegregation in Catholic institutions, Gerow ultimate- ly listened to his inner moral convictions to pursue the course of action that he believed to be the truly Chris- tian thing to do. On this 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, we are mindful of all those Christians who have gone before us in the struggle for a more peaceful and just society, so that we may be inspired by their example to confront and struggle with the pressing questions of our day. Bishop Gerow’s extensive efforts to chronicle the important period of his episcopacy re- mind us that we too live in the midst of a history that others will remember and judge in the light of God’s call to live justly. Thanks to Mary Woodward, chancellor of the Dio- cese of Jackson, for her assistance with the Bishop Ge- row archive, from which the historical material in this article is drawn. Tim Muldoon is the author of many books on Catho- lic theology and spirituality, and serves as the Director of Mission Education for Catholic Extension. For more information, visit www.catholicextension. org Bishop Gerow From page 10 Bishop Gerow is pictured in the hospital with Sr. Josephine Therese Uhll, OP; Msgr. Bernard Law and Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, then auxiliary bishop of Natchez-Jackson, who he presented an episcopal ring. CNS photo/courtesy Diocese of Jackson Archives)