Solidarity: Arduous Journey to the “Promised Land”
Part 3 of 3
In the fight against any disease it is necessary to recognize the threat. Too often we are in denial about racism. The reality has been driven underground. Because cruder historic forms of racist sentiments and behavior are considered “politically incorrect,” and because more laws have been passed, more “concessions” made, there is a false sense of security that the problem has been dealt with. But too often the spiritual problem has not been dealt with: repentance, change of heart, forgiveness, respect are still needed. Today's racism is more subtle but no less real. As the United States Catholic Conference Document, “Brothers and Sisters to Us,” asserts racism, “is manifest also in the indifference that replaces open hatred. The minority poor are seen as the dross of a post-industrial society " without skills, without motivation, without incentive. They are expendable. Many times, the new face of racism is the computer printout, the pink slip, the nameless statistic. Today's racism flourishes in the triumph of private concern over public responsibility, individual success over social commitment, and personal fulfillment over authentic compassion” (B.S.T.U. 1997, p. 6).
In Catholic social teaching, the antidote for racism is Solidarity. It is a concept used by Paul VI in “Populorum Progressio” in his discussion of development. Pope John Paul II expands on this virtue in his Encyclical letter “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis”: “In the light of faith, solidarity seeks to go beyond itself, to take on the specifically Christian dimensions of total gratuity, forgiveness and reconciliation. One's neighbor is then not only a human being with his or her own rights and a fundamental equality with everyone else, but becomes the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One's neighbor must therefore be loved, even if an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her; and for that person's sake one must be ready for sacrifice, even the ultimate one: to lay down one's life for the brethren” (S.R.S. #40).
Solidarity is an expression of the great commandment that calls us to form a community among people that will enable us to overcome “structures of sin and oppression” that dog humanity. Above the human and natural bonds already so strong, faith leads us to see “a new model of the unity of the human race.” The Holy Father insists that Solidarity is not sentimentality or a vague compassion or empathy for the suffering of so many, but rather it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is to say the good of all and of each individual, “because we are all really responsible for all” (SRS #38).
As we begin the 21st century and the third millennium, we must embrace the concept of solidarity as a solution to racism, as well as to the greed and the competition that has fractionalized our country and our planet. Solidarity is the virtue we need to instill in the new generation so that racism might become a sad anachronism in our lifetime. Just as racism is contagious, so too solidarity can inspire our young people when they see the witness of men and women committed to social justice and the good of the entire community.
As we campaign against cigarettes and drugs, we must also launch a campaign of zero tolerance for the intolerance of racism. Parents and teachers need to be the protagonists of this effort. Each of us ought to begin with our own personal conversion and testimony. We also need to create opportunities and space for friendship with people who are of different races and ethnic backgrounds. As a community we should celebrate the gifts and the traditions of all “our neighbors” and work together to build a better community where people care about each other.
Racism thrives on fear, but love casts out fear. Solidarity transforms relationships and connects us with each other. Fear and suspicion are changed into a sense of partnership in a community that truly recognizes the value of each and every person as irreplaceable and as precious in the eyes of God.
The virtue of solidarity is not only an antidote to our racial tensions in our own country, but points the way to a program of development and world peace based on a “new model of the unity of the human race.” In his message for World Peace Day, January 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II states: “… we can set forth one certain principle: there will be peace only to the extent that humanity as a whole rediscovers its fundamental call to be one family, a family in which the dignity and rights of individuals, whatever their status, race or religion, are accepted as prior and superior to any kind of difference or distinction” (World Day of Peace #5).
Given the U.S. economic, cultural and military power, the Holy Father's dream of humanity becoming “a single family built on the values of justice, equity and solidarity” is in some ways contingent on the ability of Americans of good will being able to bring about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of the “Promised Land” of racial integration in our corner of the globe.
As we cross the threshold of hope from a century of violence into a new millennium, our quest is to become what God has called us to be. We make our own the song:
“God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way:
Thou who hast by thy might, led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we
met thee;
Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand
True to our God. True to our native land.”
Devotedly yours in Christ,
Bishop Sean O'Malley
Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts
