Black Lives Matter

Dear Parishioners,

When Saint John Paul II apologized for the churches’ treatment of Jewish people over the centuries, and for its support of Anti-Semitism, many top-level church officials did not agree with his actions. They felt that the church should never apologize or admit that it has ever done anything wrong.

The problem with such thinking is that it prevents the church or any organization or culture to recognize the evils that exist. Failure to acknowledge wrongdoing causes evil to flourish and hinders any chance of making needed change. The Second Vatican Council said that the church always stands in need of reformation.

The struggle to understand, accept responsibility, and address the problem of sex abuse within our church, would never have happened until, painful though it was, was exposed to the light of day. We not only needed to apologize for our past failures and ask for forgiveness, but we also had to create a climate and structures that would prevent this abuse from happening again.

Today the church is faced with another problem, Systemic Racism. The church not only needs to apologize for its failure to address the sin of slavery, but also to recognize and acknowledge responsibility for the realities of systemic racism that exists today.

The church, the body of Christ is suffering from the sin of racial discrimination, and its effects in our faith communities. The gospel demands a better response, to those who suffer from our indifference, these sins committed daily against the dignity of the human person.

As your pastor, at this time in our parish history, I apologize for any kind of racial or ethnic discrimination, perceived or intentional on any member of this community during its eighty-eight-year history. I further pledge, with your prayers and support to continue to make our parish a place of welcome and respect for all people.

I know words alone are not enough. We must learn from history, and correct and change what needs changing. We need to do this in an atmosphere of mutual respect and peace. We condemn all forms of violence, desecration of religious symbols, defacing or destruction of property. We must never destroy our history.

We must learn from our history. Rather than destroy, we need to create places where statues and symbols can be viewed and understood within their original context and in light of our present understanding of where we are now in our history.

May God give us the grace, faith, and ability to join the public conversation by working for the good of all. In the words of Jesus, “the measure you measure with will be measured back to you, and whatever you failed to do for one of these least ones, you failed to do it to me.”

Father Gagne