Note: This is part of a package of editorial content celebrating the 10th anniversary of Archbishop William. E. Lori’s installation as archbishop of Baltimore and the 45th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Read all the stories here.
In his 10 years leading the Archdiocese in Baltimore, Archbishop William E. Lori has made the fight against racism one of his central themes.
The 2015 death of Freddie Gray Jr. while in the custody of Baltimore City police sparked much unrest in the city, with the archbishop working to quell tension through visits to the affected communities and stepped-up calls for racial justice.
The 2020 death of George Floyd in Minnesota set ablaze a powder keg of racial tension throughout the country, leading to demonstrations and protests across the nation regarding the treatment of African Americans. Many institutions, companies and organizations took notice, vowing to be more vocal proponents of social justice.
The archdiocese was no different, and was encouraged by Archbishop Lori to do its own self-reflection on how it has contributed to racism.
“What he’s done is really look at the church institutionally and gone through the daily policies and practices that we’ve done that may not have always aligned with our doctrinal values,” said Sherita Thomas, interim director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries. “His journey did not start with the death of Mr. George Floyd, which was a pivotal moment for many people. He was speaking to support this effort before that happened.”
Archbishop Lori has been vocal regarding his belief in the role the church plays in combating racism. He has written two pastoral reflections on the subject and helped with the creation of various task forces to address it. These same efforts led to the creation of the Journey to Racial Justice initiative, which is focused on eliminating racism and creating a culture change.
“The archbishop has been greatly moved by the events of the past years, I think, with Freddie Gray, even before that,” said Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., lead of the Racial Justice Coordinating Council. “He sees the church as having a key role in eradicating racism and bringing about racial justice. What he has done through his writing and structural change in the archdiocese is to make part of our daily tasks asking, ‘Is there racism here? What needs to change? And how can we be more equitable and just, especially toward people of color?’”
The focus on having the church take stock of itself does not end with just clergy. The hope is that parishes throughout the archdiocese will jump on board with the initiative and have those potentially awkward conversations.
“What we’ve evaluated through a survey is that certainly the vast majority of the clergy are in favor of his initiative on this matter,” said Father Raymond Harris, pastor of Holy Family in Randallstown and a member of the Racial Justice Coordinating Council. “We want to foster conversations in parishes. The clergy want to be equipped on how to do that and how to speak on those issues and how to talk about it in homilies and other forums.”
Bishop Lewandowski echoed that sentiment, stating that some parishes have been having workshops and honest conversations about racism whereas others have only been minimally engaged.
“We can’t expect everyone to get on board at the same time,” he said. “We’re working on it little by little, piece by piece.”
Although many are in favor of this initiative, it is not without its detractors.
“Is there broad acceptance of the initiative? No,” Bishop Lewandowski said. “If our society has racism in it, we should expect it to be in our church as well. We have a long way to go, which is why this is called a journey.”
Because it is a journey, Father Harris emphasized that parishioners will have to be patient for results.
“Like Archbishop Lori said, we won’t do this for a year and then it’s over,” Father Harris said. “We do want some actions to be immediate because people feel if it’s gradual things will never get accomplished. Some things will have to be gradual, in terms of a cultural shift.”
Regardless of how polarizing the initiative may be, it’s one Archbishop Lori has no intention of shying away from advancing.
“Many times, Archbishop Lori has said ‘it’s not going to happen overnight,’” Bishop Lewandowski said. “It’s a conversion of mind and heart and we’re in it for the long haul. Even if there is opposition we’re not stopping – this has to happen.”
Speaking of the series of conversations on racial justice around the archdiocese, the archbishop praised retired Auxiliary Bishop Denis J. Madden and Mary Ellen Russell, recently retired director of community relations for the archdiocese, who helped assemble the racial justice working group.
“That work has been carried forward now by Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, and I’d like to especially mention Sherita Thomas, who has really been working for us part time and on an interim basis, but she’s done more on that part-time basis than anyone I could imagine and this work is something we are committed to doing long-term,” Archbishop Lori said.
Christopher Gunty contributed to this article.
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