The church leaders across the United States seek to spearhead the fight against systemic racism and White privilege following the mass killing incidents in the U.S.
Church Leaders' Approach
In a report from the Detroit Catholic, church leaders around the country can reportedly find ways to help society and inform the people about the systemic racism that is happening in the country.
As reported, the following are the responses of the Catholic faith leaders following the mass shooting incidents in Black churches in Charleston, South Carolina, a Pittsburgh synagogue, a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
Most Recent Mass Shooting Incident
According to a report from CNN, the mass shooting held at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, was deemed a racist attack.
The authorities said that the 18-year-old suspect, identified as Payton S. Gendron from Conklin, New York, targeted the Black community.
Accordingly, the police revealed that 10 people were killed in the incident, and 11 out of 13 victims were black.
ABC 7 reported about the Buffalo incident, which prompted Mayor Eric Adams in May to meet with other church leaders at Bethel Gospel Assembly Church in Harlem.
Other Faith Leaders' Approach
Bishop John E. Stowe, a church leader from Lexington, Kentucky, said that no institution in the United States gives priority to addressing racism and teaching how sinful racism is.
Moreover, Robin Lenhardt, a law professor at Georgetown University and one of the founding faculties of Georgetown's new Racial Justice Institute, reportedly said that churches and their organizations, schools, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops could be used in giving information to the people in the community.
He added that educating the people in the community will give them an awareness of racism and White privilege without detaching or insulting other people.
As further discussed, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, reportedly conducts listening sessions in the diocese he serves to hear and acknowledge the experiences and the impact of racism on the people they serve.
Bishop Burbidge was reportedly doing the listening sessions in their diocese for years before the statement of Azzeiza Beadle, leader of a group that helps address racism at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville.
Beadle suggested that the churches must listen to the community to be aware of what is happening in the community.
Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory of Washington, the only Black cardinal in the U.S., reportedly believed that the appointment of Black people to lead in the dioceses of Pope Francis aimed to give them a message about equality.
In that sense, the Oblate Sist. Marcia Hall reportedly suggested that the church should begin educating the U.S. seminaries about the impact of systemic racism to make future priests aware of its effects on society.
However, Charisse Smith, chair of the diversity committee of Lawrenceville, New Jersey's Notre Dame Catholic High School's school board, reportedly said that the fight against racism is an 'evolving process.'
Smith added that it would take a lot of strategies, planning, and organizing to finally achieve the perfect approach on how to fight against systemic racism.
Additionally, the fight against racism and White privilege reportedly starts in the church.
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