"But racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart."

-Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love

Lent is a good time to take a quiet moment and read, or re-read, Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism written by the Committee on Cultural Diversity for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  In this pastoral letter, the Bishops call all persons to understand the gravity of the sin of racism, to recognize the ways in which the evils of racism have impacted our fellow humans and the world in which we live, and to stand up as beacons of the goodness of Jesus Christ, recognizing that every person is made in the image of God.

Although this letter was approved and published in 2018, prior to the momentous events of the past year, the message is even more poignant, timely, and relevant today.  As Christians, and, especially, as Catholics, we must work against racism and align ourselves with those whose aim is to eliminate prejudice and racial injustices.  Open Wide Our Hearts is not the first pastoral letter to come out against racism. Brothers and Sisters to Us was published in 1979 and Discrimination and Christian Conscience was published in 1958, showing us that this journey is not new, but long and overdue for change.

In the Lenten Season, let us PRAY for a better future for all of us.

A few Open Wide Our Heart Resources:

Stations of the Cross, Overcoming Racism

Practical Steps for Eradicating Racism

Open Wide Our Hearts Study Guide

Information ©  2021 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops