Enough is enough: Church speaks out against racism

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Click here for video of the prayer service

Chanting the Civil Rights battle cry, “We Shall Overcome,” more than 250 people – black and white, young and old – marched peacefully June 5 from the administrative building of the Archdiocese of New Orleans to the front steps of Notre Dame Seminary to mourn the death of George Floyd in the custody of the Minneapolis police.

In addition, Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri said the prayer service, called “Requiem for the Black Children of God,” prayed for dozens of African-American men and women who had died tragically under similar circumstances at the hands of police or others in authority.

“Enough is enough,” said Bishop Cheri, who is African American, from the steps of the seminary, with Archbishop Gregory Aymond and former Archbishop Alfred Hughes at his side. “This scene drains our

“As toxic as the crossroads of life are these days, will we have the courage and wisdom to stay vigilant amidst … the gross violence and abuse by law enforcement? This is not a time for the faint of heart but for the courageous.”


Following a reading from Matthew (5:13-16) in which Jesus calls his disciples the salt of the earth and the city on the hill and commands them to shine their light for all to see, Bishop Cheri said the current American “state of unrest” requires those who call themselves Christians to “stand up for freedom.”

“We cannot rest but fight against authoritarian regimes that stifle our freedom of speech entitled in our Constitution,” he said. “We must stand up as a community against the corruptive forces of evil, as a body against 400-plus years of systematic racism – slavery, lynching, civil war, Jim Crow laws, segregation, unlawful policing and inequality.
“We must stand up and profess that human dignity and value at every level is the true issue of right to life. … My brother has a knee on his neck. Am I not my brother’s keeper?”


The names of 49 African Americans – including Floyd – who had “succumbed to the brutal blows of racism’s cruel injustice” – were read to the crowd by three speakers, with each name punctuated by the jarring clang of a gong.

“George Floyd now joins a refrain of voices crying out from the grave,” Bishop Cheri said. “For the countless George Floyds whose lives have been snuffed out prematurely, say their names, tell the story, for black lives matter. The dehumanization of African Americans and people of color must come to an end.”

Bishop Cheri said he hoped the videos of police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee for more than eight minutes into Floyd’s neck ­while Floyd was already face down on the cement and handcuffed would be a tipping point in finally addressing unequal treatment for African Americans.

“We can’t do enough to encourage law enforcement to apply the same standards to all people, to show that being black should not be a crime in America or in the world, to join peace-loving people to eliminate centuries of institutional racism,” Bishop Cheri said. “I must confess: I will not be silent.”


Pointing to the diverse crowd, Bishop Cheri said he has hope things will finally change to heal the racial inequality.

“The good news is, look who’s here,” he said. “People who have joined and know that we must do better. We can do better, and we have to do it together. No one person, no one culture, no one group, no one church can do this. We must all do this together.”

Archbishop Aymond said the focus on Floyd’s horrific death can bring about change if enough people follow through.

“This can be a turning point because the outpouring of the people of the United States has been significant, and our Holy Father, Pope Francis, sent his condolences,” Archbishop Aymond said. “If we truly believe what we are saying, and what we are protesting and praying for, we can be the light of the world, we can be an instrument of peace that God wants us to be.”

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarionherald.org.