St. Catherine University and Sisters of St. Joseph continue the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

St. Catherine University and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) communities are honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by holding a community conversation on dismantling systematic racism. 800 people attended the conversation lead by Father Bryan Massingale, a professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University in New York. The event was entitled “To Redeem the Soul of America: A Moral Vision for a Movement against Racism,” and it addressed the current state of racism in the US. Fr. Massingale stated that “prejudice, discrimination or antagonism toward others based on their race or ethnicity continues because there are people in the United States who are indifferent to racism or who have mixed feelings about whether itself exists.”

Fr. Massingale also emphasized that in order to truly eradicate racial inequality, we need to undergo a moral transformation and look as a society beyond what is immediately visible or obvious. Fr. Massingale also praise Martin Luther King Jr. for his “foresight in this regard. He understood that the visible and ever-changing – laws, policies, customs, dress and literature, for example – were reflections of something deeper.”

To read more about Father Massingale’s conversation on racism, visit St. Catherine’s news.

Georgetown University Hosts Liturgy of Penance for Sale of Enslaved People

ICYMI: Earlier this year, Georgetown University hosted a Liturgy of Remembrance, Contrition and Hope as a moment to express contrition for the institutional sin of selling 272 enslaved people to raise money for preserve the university in 1838.

“Now, nearly 200 years later, we cannot heal from this tragic history alone. Many have confessed and labored to atone for this sin, but mostly within the confines of our own religious houses and apostolic works. Because we are profoundly sorry, we stand before God—and before you, the descendants of those whom we enslaved—and we apologize for what we have done and what we have failed to do,” Father Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president, of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States said.

Learn more about the event by reading the full article on the America website.

 

Peace and Justice in ACCU’s Summer Newsletter

ACCU recently released the summer edition of Update, our quarterly newsletter. Read Update in full here. Peace and Justice highlights include:

• ACCU President’s Letter: Celebrating 50 years of Populorum Progressio
• Rivier Students Participate in Day of Service: In April, Rivier University held its fifth annual First-Year Student Day of Service, contributing hundreds of service hours to Greater Nashua, New Hampshire non-profit organizations.
• Mount Marty Students Volunteer at Rosebud Indian Reservation: Eighteen students from Mount Marty College recently participated in an annual service opportunity that sends nursing students and non-nursing majors to the Rosebud Indian Reservation to work with Tree of Life Ministry in Mission, South Dakota.
• Newman Students Focus Art on Syrian Conflict: The atrium in Newman University’s Dugan Library was home to a student-created art exhibit in April, with art designed to depict the conflict in Syria.
• Emmanuel Students Raise Funds for Children’s Hospital: The sixth annual Emmanuel College Dance Marathon for Boston Children’s Hospital set a new fundraising record this year.
• Benedictine Holds Social Justice Teach-In: This spring Benedictine University held an all-day “Teach-In on Social Justice and Race” to promote greater understanding of people and issues affecting local communities.
• Aquinas Awarded Early Childhood Ed. Grant: Aquinas College in Michigan has been awarded a $900,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to address the shortage of qualified teachers of color available to lead local early childhood education classrooms.

To subscribe to Update, please email Paula Moore.

Day of Prayer for Peace

In light of recent incidents of racial violence and tension, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities on September 9, 2016, the feast day of St. Peter Claver.  Catholics across the country are encourage to join together in prayer, reflection, and discernment of action steps to promote peace and racial justice.  USCCB president Archbishop Joseph Kurtz has also announced that the USCCB will form a special task force in order to promote peace and heal racial tensions, led by Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta.

Many resources for the Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities are available on the USCCB racism page,  including a video, bishops’ statements, prayer and liturgy resources, teaching materials, articles and more. The WeAreSaltAndLight.org diversity and racial justice page also includes additional resources.  Additionally, campuses are invited to participate in a WeAreSaltAndLight.org Google Hangout on racial justice on September 14 at 2 p.m. ET, or to watch the event on YouTube.

Register Now for the Pax Christi USA National Gathering

Next month, join Pax Christi USA at their national gathering to learn strategies to end racial injustice and violence.  Titled “Building the Beloved Community: Addressing the Signs of the Times with Bold Conversations Leading to Transformative Actions,” the gathering will take place August 12-14, 2016 in Linthicum, MD.

The gathering keynote speakers include experts such as Lisa Sharon Harper of Sojourners, Adrienne L. Hollis and Kerene Taylor of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Rev. Rocco Puopolo, s.x. of Global Youth Mission Services for the Xaverian Missionaries. Bringing together experienced scholars and practitioners, the gathering will be an educational and formative experience.

Hotel reservations are to be made before July 18, 2016. Make your reservations with the discounted rate here and download the registration packet here!

How does your college or university work to end racial injustice? Let us know!

Catholic Higher Education Contributes to Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Lenten Reflections

Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) has recently published their Lenten reflections for the upcoming season, including some daily devotionals authored by representatives of Catholic higher education.

Lift Every Voice: A Lenten Journey Toward Racial Justice is this year’s ISN Lenten blog; it seeks to address “America’s original sin of racism through the lens of Ignatian spirituality and the daily readings.” Throughout the season of Lent, ISN will email subscribers reflections on “how the Gospel calls us to repent, pray, and act in solidarity with those affected by an enduring legacy of systemic and personal racial discrimination.”

The writers of the blog from Catholic higher education include:

• M. Shawn Copeland, Ph.D., a Theology Professor at Boston College, specializing in the theological understanding of the human body, gender, and race; the African American Catholic experience, and political or praxis based theologies.
• Fred Pestello, Ph.D., President of St. Louis University, who is known for a strong commitment to Jesuit values in higher education.
• Maureen O’Connell, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at LaSalle University, specializing in racial identity formation, racism, and racial justice in Catholic higher education.

Be sure to sign up for Lift Up Every Voice to receive daily email updates!

How does your college or university reflect on racial justice? Let us know! 

A Call to Combat Racism in Jesuit Higher Education

Food for Thought Friday: In a recent America Magazine article, , author Alex Mikulich highlights how Jesuit colleges and universities can increase diversity and combat racism.  He calls for greater diversity among student bodies and faculties and multicultural programming, noting that “The rationale for Jesuit institutions to develop bold initiatives for both diversity and racial equity are deeply rooted in Jesuit and Catholic values”. He calls for an “analysis of white privilege, power, and racism in the context of US history”, transformative training and practices to increase diversity in students, faculty, and staff, and liberation from intellectual, moral, human, and spiritual deformities caused by racism.

Mikulich mentions some Jesuit higher education institutions have begun to act on their commitment to diversity, equality. He writes “some schools, like Fordham University and other institutions, have engaged in proactive, antiracist institutional training through Crossroads Ministry or the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, which offer training, resources, and capacity-building to engage racial equity practices.”  Read more in his essay, Breathing Space.