Monday, November 5, 2007

Sister calls church to action on racism

Tom Heinen in the November 3, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, interviewed Sister Jamie T. Phelps, keynote speaker at the recent Call to Action national conference.

Karen Marie Knapp might be claiming this as the miracle needed for her beatification, but I tend to agree with some of what Sister has to say.
Q: How does this play out in the church today?

A: I'm getting very concerned as I look at the national landscape and watch the patterns of the past 20 years, the closings of churches and schools in many central cities. We talk about evangelizing and social justice as linchpins and goals of church ministry. We talk about a fundamental option for the poor as an essential part of Jesus' ministry. ...

Our former Archbishop Rembert Weakland explained why this inconsistency exists while Reminiscing.
The concern for the poor, especially on a global level, remains a strong motivational factor in my thinking. But also it is a frustrating one. There are no signs of a groundswell in that regard among our people.

That is, our leaders will act on this issue when doing so doesn't require leadership.

Update: Meanwhile, in Memphis,
In the late 1990s, Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. had a vision. Urban Catholic schools that had previously been closed due to low enrollment numbers and a lack of funding would be reopened to serve those with the greatest need—the children of inner-city Memphis neighborhoods.

Resulting in Jubilee Catholic Schools. If that could be a "cause", why not reopening some inner city parishes?

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous6:29 PM

    Well, this would require that those responsible for the closing of many parishes and schools, have made a mistake...and that will NEVER happen. Think where we would be today if the Church had been doing its job these past 40 years, proclaiming the Good News and preaching the Gospel of Christ..not their own?

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