A Jesuit priest issued a message to white supremacists who call themselves Christian, pointing out that their beliefs of superiority over other ethnicities is the complete opposite of everything Jesus stands for.
“How many white supremacists consider themselves Christian? Probably the majority of them,” said Father James Martin, S.J., editor-at-large of America magazine, in a video tweet. “But supremacy is the precise opposite of Jesus’ message. In the Gospels, Jesus asks us to love one another, to place others’ needs before our own, even to die for one another. The idea of supremacy is absurd to Jesus. Jesus tells us explicitly that we are never to lord power over others and that we are to be one another’s servants. The idea that anyone is less than because of his or her race is likewise antithetical to Jesus’ message.”
Martin notes how the Samaritans were discriminated against in Jesus’ time, yet Jesus made the good man in his famous parable a Samaritan.
“Jesus even encounters a Roman centurion, someone completely outside of his religion, speaks with him, heals his servant, and praises his faith. So for Jesus, there is no us and them,” he continues. “No one should be made by the community into an ‘other,’ as white supremacists do to non-whites. There is only us. Racism goes against everything that Jesus taught. It promotes hatred, not love, anger, not compassion, vengeance, not mercy. It is therefore a sin.”
“Christian white supremacist is an oxymoron. Every time you shout ‘white power,’ you might as well be shouting ‘crucify Him.’ And anytime you lift your hand in a Nazi salute, you might as well be lifting your hand to nail Jesus to the cross. Unless you missed the point, your savior is Jewish.”
.@JamesMartinSJ: White Supremacy is the opposite of Jesus’ message. pic.twitter.com/nMu4wk4FIr
— America Magazine (@americamag) August 14, 2017
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Fla., chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, issued a statement Sunday dedicating Mass prayers “to the people of Charlottesville who offered a counter example to the hate marching in the streets.”
“Let us unite ourselves in the spirit of hope offered by the clergy, people of faith, and all people of good will who peacefully defended their city and country,” they said.
“We stand against the evil of racism, white supremacy and neo-nazism. We stand with our sisters and brothers united in the sacrifice of Jesus, by which love’s victory over every form of evil is assured. At Mass, let us offer a special prayer of gratitude for the brave souls who sought to protect us from the violent ideology displayed yesterday. Let us especially remember those who lost their lives. Let us join their witness and stand against every form of oppression.”
On Saturday, DiNardo noted that the approaching Sept. 9 feast day of St. Peter Claver, patron saint of racial justice.
“We also stand ready to work with all people of goodwill for an end to racial violence and for the building of peace in our communities,” the cardinal said.
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