Racial Equity and Justice Committee established

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald 

Against a backdrop of recent events in 2020 – where racial tensions rocked every segment of U.S. society – Archbishop Gregory Aymond has established a Committee for Racial Equity and Justice to examine Catholic parishes, schools and institutions of the archdiocese and recommend ways in which the archdiocese can make collective progress on racial issues.

(View Clarion Herald video podcast on the formation of the archdiocesan Committee for Racial Equity and Justice)

The archbishop introduced the members of the committee Jan. 17 at the first annual Mass for Peace and Justice at St. Louis Cathedral.

Committee chairwoman Ty Salvant read the first reading (1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19), and committee member Grant Tregre offered the second reading (1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a,17-20). Deacon Martin Gutierrez, the committee's vice chair, proclaimed the Gospel (John 1:35-42).

Father Daniel Green, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in New Orleans and director of the archdiocesan office of Black Catholic Ministries, said the idea for such a panel grew out of the memorial prayer service the archdiocese held last June on the steps of Notre Dame Seminary for Black persons who had died at the hands of authorities or in racially motivated incidents.

“We prayed for an end to racial injustice and we remembered by name those who had been lost to violence around racism,” Father Green said. “After that march, the conversation continued and the question became, ‘Where do we go from here?’

“We’ve marched, we’ve prayed, but what’s the work that we can do? And we know every institution has those places where there is need to examine our consciences, examine our practices and our traditions and those things that have become entrenched that we may not even be aware of how they came about.”

Father Green approached Archbishop Aymond about a committee being empaneled to review the archdiocese’s parishes, schools and agencies. Salvant, a parishioner of St. Dominic Parish and also a member of the Racial Harmony Commission, was appointed chairwoman.

Deacon Gutierrez, chief operating officer of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, was named vice chairman. 

The committee has divided its work into four parts: the administrative offices, parishes, schools and external agencies.

Salvant, a homeschooling mother of six, said one of the major charges of the panel is to “explore those policies, practices and procedures through a racial equity and justice lens, to identify areas where we’re not living up to our faith beliefs and to create a racial equity and justice strategic plan so that we can tackle those in an incremental way.”

Won’t gather dust

Deacon Gutierrez said he hopes the committee’s final recommendations, which are expected to be made to the archbishop in 18 months, will move beyond discussion and deliberation.

“Oftentimes, we develop these wonderful strategic plans and pastoral plans and they make for wonderful decorations on someone’s bookshelf,” Deacon Gutierrez said. “That’s not what we want to happen here. We’re doing this at this time – which is a very important task. The followup to this is going to be key.”


Signs of the times
In his homily at the Mass for Peace and Justice – the day before the federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Archbishop Aymond said a quick observation of racial tensions over the last several years indicates a deep need for social change.

"As we look at the current events, how do they reflect the attitude and the values of Jesus, the one we believe in as our teacher, as our Lord, as our brother and savior?" the archbishop asked. "Jesus' message and his way of life tell us that we must treat others with respect and love others as he has loved us.

"And, he tells us that we must act with justice, and only when we do so, can that lead us to the gift of peace."

The archbishop said Americans have the constitutional riight to peacefully protest to inject their point of view into the public sphere, but he said no one has a right to resort to violence.

"Violent protests disrespect others, do not call for unity but rather for division and sometimes take the lives of other people," he said. "Just recently in Washington, regardless of the political party that we may belong to, we saw the violence in the taking of life, which is sinful.

"It's not just these public demonstrations. We also see the daily use of poisonous words that slice the hearts of other people and belittle other people."

He said racism is not a new phenomenon buts dates back millenia.

"It was very evident in the time of Jesus. He often spoken about the issue of inequality and racism, and today we see it in our world," Archbishop Aymond said. "We know that wherever there is division, hatred, jealousy, violence, whether it's physical or verbal, evil is at work."

He said the U.S. bishops in their document on racism, "Open Wide Our Hearts," remind us "that racism is when people consciously or unconsciously think that their race deserves more respect than another. (The document says) racial acts are sinful because they violate justice, which is the dream of God himself."

The archbishop suggested Catholics should reflect on three questions in the coming days and months: 

"Jesus, how can I act more justly and be a peacemaker?"

"Jesus, do I listen to the stories of others when they are different?"

"Jesus, are my actions and attitudes peaceful?"

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