May 18, 2022 

Dear Friends in Christ, 

When I heard the news Saturday that 13 people had been shot – 10 of them killed -- while shopping and working at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, I bowed my head in prayer for the victims of yet another senseless shooting. But, when the facts reported by the media indicated this was no random shooting, but a premeditated, racially motivated plan, I felt heartsick and outrage on several levels. 

I have written before about the sin of racism and the scourge created when we allow feelings of our race or ethnicity‘s perceived superiority over others to live in our hearts and minds. Racism has no place in the heart of a Catholic Christian because we believe all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. It is a fundamental truth of our faith. Failure to learn this truth often reaps prejudice, fear of others, and hatred. I don’t know how the alleged gunman, barely an adult, allowed himself to become infected with such evil. But we must do all we can to ensure young people – not only our children and grandchildren, but those in our community – are supported to seek a different path. 

In an article published May 16 in Crux, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of Louisville (Kentucky) expressed lament for racial violence and the loss of life from the shooting, saying for any group to be targeted for their skin color is “an affront to a loving God.” 

“Until we stop seeing one another as targets of racial hatred, and instead choose to respect the human dignity of each person, we will continue to suffer the detrimental effects of the evil and sin of racism,” said Fabre, one of the few Black Catholic prelates in the United States.

“We must come to terms with the certain reality that true and authentic change will only come from genuine conversion of the hearts of each individual person,” he said. “While evil exists in this world, it is incumbent upon each one of us to examine our own hearts and to work ever more diligently to recognize and eradicate the evil that may be within us.”

We can begin this process in small ways. First, we must remember our gift of free will. God gives us the choice to take care of our family members and loved ones, serve those in need in our communities, and bring truth, beauty, and compassion into the world. At the same time, we are also given the choice to consume empty content and take part in idle pursuits that isolate ourselves from others. I ask each of you to choose a path that brings you closer to God every day and lifts up your spouse, children, co-workers, and fellow members of your community. Live right in this life God has given us.

Secondly, we must remember our co-existence with one another in a community and the commandment Jesus gave us in last Sunday’s Gospel – to love one another. This means we must extend ourselves to get to know one another and learn about each another. It means we should reach out to others who don’t look like or dress like ourselves and learn from our disparate experiences. It is through this Christian outreach that we will all grow in understanding, acceptance, and love for another. 

I pray these horrific killings in Buffalo are the last ones we will experience, but we know that won’t be the case. That is why we cannot look away. Let us eradicate racism in our own hearts and pray for its erasure in the hearts of others.

I wish you all a blessed and peace-filled week.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. John