Right after Easter, Fr. Bill Treacy (the eldest priest in the Archdiocese at 101 years old!) sent around to some priests a copy of David Brooks’ latest column “A Christian vision of social justice.” (Seattle Times) I think it is well written and worth a read (as did, it seems, Fr. Treacy). The key idea is that a Christian engaging with racism should regard racism as a sin, far more than as a system or something related to group identity. For some of us, this idea might be obvious. For others, it may very well be a brand-new idea.
The Brooks column is a helpful application of the book I am currently reading, Cynical Theories (Barnes & Noble), an exploration of the postmodern philosophical assumptions underlying much of the way we talk about gender, race, and identity today. The overall argument of the book is that postmodern philosophy abandons individual responsibility and universal truths in favor of group identity, with the result that everything becomes about power structures, an oppressor/victim hermeneutic, and the inability to discuss truth apart from viewpoint bias. Instead, the authors (who are by no means aligned with the Catholic Church on many social issues) argue for a return to individual responsibility and universal principles, something they call Liberalism, lest we lose all ability to undertake scientific inquiry or objective analysis. The Brooks column aligns with this idea, by returning racism to an individual responsibility – something concrete that we can address – rather than an abstract system that is too ambiguous and ethereal to deal with directly.
I should say, in addition to Cynical Theories and at the encouragement of a parishioner, I am next going to read the U.S. Bishop’s 2018 letter on racism (USCCB.org). It is absolutely important to engage the topic of racism, but it is equally important to engage it using proper theological and philosophical categories, lest we construct our good work on a foundation of sand. Cynical Theories is helpful for the philosophy, the U.S. Bishops for the theology.
Fr. Moore 