June 7

Weekend Bulletin
Children’s Bulletin

SERVE Registration
Religious Ed Grade 1-6 Registration
Religious Ed Grade 7-8 Registration
High School Discipleship Registration

Deacon with the Social Ministry Committee
A Pro-life Issue not often discussed
We are all well aware of what happened to Mr. George Floyd in the Minneapolis area last week. Through the bad behavior of one police officer and the neglect of three others this poor man is dead.  Mr. Floyd was accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a deli to purchase some cigarettes. Video footage from a nearby store seems to show that Floyd did not resist arrest. When he was taken across the street to where the squad cars were parked he appears to fall down and that is when the police officer pinned him to the ground and  put his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
This incident has set off a powder keg of protests, demonstrations and some very violent and destructive behavior by some. My daughter is a police officer in Sioux Falls. I barely slept last Sunday night because she spent hours at  the Empire Mall during the violence that erupted there. She was uninjured but her police car didn’t fare so well - many of the windows were broken out of it.
What a tragedy! There was a peaceful demonstration downtown earlier in the evening and many that left that event were the ones who caused the trouble at the Mall. Most disturbing is the fact that almost all of those causing the damage, etc. at the Mall were Sioux Falls residents.
So what about the pro-life end of this article? Racism is an offence against human dignity and every person’s right to be treated justly in society and in the law. The first tenet of Catholic Social Teaching is entitled “Life and Dignity of the Human Person”. We, as Catholics, should be on the forefront of ensuring life and dignity in our neighborhood, in our city and in our country. Racism is a direct affront to what we teach and believe.
I had an uncle who was black (he passed away 2 years ago). Thomas grew up in East Baltimore and was a good student and athlete. But each time he walked home late in the evening from a basketball practice he was confronted by police and often “roughed up”. Even as an adult who had an MBA and was a professional underwriter he would get stopped in downtown Baltimore while on his way to the parking ramp. However,  he did not let these experiences taint his outlook. He and my aunt were tireless crusaders against racism but they were NOT mean or angry people.
I asked our Social Ministry Committee members to send any thoughts they had about the current situation and will end with these excerpts from them:
“I heard there were positive steps being taken yesterday (Sunday) during the downtown “peaceful protest” and that the organizers had cooperated with the city leaders and law enforcement at that point, and some good conversations had happened. This is where dialog for change and problem solving can happen, and trust can improve. Once the actions turned violent, the dialogue and trust is gone. Did all the protesters throw rocks, break windows or loot stores? No. But the evil of some creates hatred for the whole group. How is love and trust restored?
How do we reflect love and open up constructive conversations without violence? What’s causes one young person to throw rocks and profanities, and another young person to come the next day to clean up the mess? How does parenting impact all this? Do they know they’re a child of God, created in His image? Do they know the love and mercy of Jesus Christ? Where do we reach out? What are the current statements from other church leaders locally or nationally? How much do we really know based on the media’s slant of information?”

“Raising our voices to speak out against injustice and stand up for our neighbors and communities is an essential part of our Catholic faith and our democracy. This is a time to express our feelings of sorrow and anger in prayer to God and have trust in His goodness.
We should also hold up a mirror and honestly look at ourselves. Then engage in the hard but necessary work that is before us.
As a faith community, we should be participants of action that help implement real solutions that make a difference in our community and nation and recognize the value of every person in God’s likeness.”