Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • June 26, 2020 13 “I think we have to listen” to the young people tak- ing the lead here from every background. “We need to listen to voices of color, but those of us who are older need to listen to those that are younger. Sure, we can bring our wisdom, but we need them,” she emphasized, saying the young people are providing, to the surprise of some, moral leadership in the midst of this crisis. “People in my generation have not gotten it right; we have to get out of the way,” and let young people, with their understanding of the world community, move this forward, she said. Many older sisters have expressed frustration that they can’t join the crowds calling for racial justice because they are following guidelines to stay at home while the nation is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Sister Quincy Howard, a Dominican sister of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, hesitated to join in marches at first because she lives in a community and did not want to expose herself and then others to COVID-19, but she felt called to join two peaceful protests in Washington in early June joining other Catholics. She said her presence, as a white sister in a white habit, got some attention and photographs in the media. Some people thanked her for being there, especially other sisters who weren’t able to join. Her brother in Texas who saw her photo online didn’t recognize her because of her placard -- “I repent of my racism,” writ- ten with black marker -- not imagining she could be racist. “He’s been blindsided, as many white Americans are, playing catch-up,” she said, stressing that her mes- sage reflected how everyone needs to recognize their part in modern racism. “We are all in this was my point.” That’s what Sister Marie Lucey, a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia and longtime activist, also is recognizing, describing it as a “kind of wakening.” The gray-haired woman religious who attended the same Washington protests as Sister Quincy, said she wanted to stand with those seeking change. “As a white person, as a Catholic, as a sister, I have work to do,” She also said she feels “some kind of hope, not optimism.” She is reading, and discussing with other sisters in her community, the current best-seller: “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.” The sisters feel a change is not only overdue in the nation but also in the church where they want to see more people of color represented in diocesan leadership positions and church organizations and for parishes and parish priests to really address racism. Sister Baird, who was involved in anti-racism efforts for 15 years in the Chicago Archdiocese, said she worked with about every parish and Catholic school. “Yes, we had some accomplishments, but it’s a hard road climbing up a steep hill.” “Much more needs to happen. What I would love to see is the police department take a good look at them- selves,” said Sister Bruner, who took part in a New Orleans archdiocesan march and prayer service for racial justice June 5. “I also wish our church would speak out more, our community would like to do more too. We are more up in age; we pray a lot, but we also want to do something too.” Wanting to do something more is what prompted Mercy Sisters Lisa Griffith and Regina Ward, leaders in the Mercy Education System of the Americas, to take part in two protests near where they live in Silver Spring, Maryland. One of the protests was student-led, another involved kneeling in silence for about three minutes at a major intersection, the amount of time Floyd was said to be no longer alive while still under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin. Sister Ward has marched before on other issues, but this was a first for Sister Griffith. Both said they weren’t sure if they would join more protests or not; they were taking it one day at a time. Sister Griffith said it was important to “make sure everyone’s voice is heard” on this and to also keep the issue of racism, one of five critical concerns for the Mercy sisters, “out there in the forefront.” “One of our phrases is: We need to have courageous dialogue to lead to greatest actions,” she said. And that dialogue alone, in protest chants and in companies reworking policies, is something these women, religious see as a start, signaling something more to come. As Sister Howard put it: “This moment and how the church appears to be engaging with it -- fully, but awk- wardly” -- gives her hope. But like the other sisters, she also tempers that, say- ing: “I have a lot of concerns and misgivings and I am painfully aware of the very long road ahead.” She said she worries that people are “so depleted in general now” but still, “between the pandemic and this awaken- ing,” she thinks what has been sparked across the coun- try is something big. Or as she put it: “It feels biblical.” Women Religious Protests From page 10 Latino immigrants ask family, parishes for help during crises, says panel BY NORMA MONTENEGRO FLYNN Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Latino immigrants and their families impacted by the pandemic and the outcry against racism lack the assistance networks that others have, but they are finding support in their relatives and parish communities, according to speakers on a June 11 panel. Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life sponsored an online roundtable of Latino young adults who discussed the topic “Justice and Faith, Family and Community: Latino Leadership in a Time of Crisis.” Blacks and Latinos have been affected by the pan- demic at many levels, from losing their jobs and health insurance to getting sick and having limited or no access to health care, putting them in vulnerable situa- tions, the panelists said. “Knowing that my parents don’t have health insur- ance, I knew I did not want to put them at risk of con- tracting COVID, knowing that if they did so the bills that they would get would be tremendous,” said Juan Belman Guerrero, a program manager for the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor at Georgetown University. Guerrero’s parents did not qualify to receive an eco- nomic impact check from the federal government because his mother does not have a Social Security number. The pandemic also forced him to postpone his wedding this spring. “To the government, to businesses, we can be seen as disposable workers,” Guerrero added. At the same time, some Latinos and other communi- ties of color also have endured the racism and injustice exposed by the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died while in police custody. The incident has sparked outrage and protests around the country. Many bishops, priests, religious and lay Catholics have joined thousands of people expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the need to address and reject racism, injustice and police brutality. Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, who recently participated in a peaceful protest of Catholics organized by a local Josephite priest, said those issues also affect many immigrants. “When they began to speak about Black Lives Matter, they were also referring (to) people who are crossing the border, people who have been immigrants here for years, people who are just waiting to be approved in order to be documented workers in the United States,” Bishop Dorsonville added. The prelate went on to address the responsibility that societies share in the human drama that immigrants and others living in poverty experience. He stressed the need to find a way to promote and live out the essential Catholic social teaching of respecting the human dig- nity of every person. SEE LATINOS ASSISTANCE FORUM, PAGE 15