US bishops name head of racial justice committee

(OSV News) -- The U.S. bishops have named Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of Austin, Texas, as the first-ever chairman of their Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

The news was announced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a Nov. 20 media release.

Bishop Garcia was appointed by Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

That committee -- the scope of which includes Catholic social teaching on issues such as poverty, housing, criminal justice and the environment -- oversees the subcommittee, since such challenges typically have a disproportionate effect on communities of color.

The subcommittee, first launched in 2017 as the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, was approved as a permanent entity under its new name by the USCCB's administrative committee in September as a permanent entity.

Speaking to OSV News, Bishop Garcia said that the committee is part of the church's effort to "continue to work towards some aspect of equal justice among races."

At the same time, he said, "where there have been profound hurt and wounds," the committee seeks to help the church and its members "create an environment of reconciliation, to provide moments where we can acknowledge our faults" and "acknowledge God's mercy that we're called to give to each other."

Bishop Joseph N. Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago -- who recently wrapped up his term as chair of the ad hoc committee -- said Bishop Garcia is "well suited to carry on the work which has begun to convert the hearts of the faithful and the community at large, that the dignity of every person may be recognized."

Bishop Garcia said he has personally witnessed the devastating experience of racial discrimination.

Writing in a Nov. 20 letter to the faithful, Bishop Garcia shared that while he grew up in a loving, devout family and a "richly diverse" community -- one with "families of African American, German, Czech, and Latino heritage" who lived, worked and worshipped together -- "as I grew older, I began to witness the painful reality of how people viewed and treated one another differently."

In the interview with OSV News, Bishop Garcia explained how he saw segregation at work in his small town, with designated sections in restaurants for African Americans and police stops based on racial profiling.

Such discrimination even extended to the church, said Bishop Garcia, who recalled an African American friend being discouraged from attending a Catholic school by its pastor, while also seeing Mass attendees withhold the kiss of peace during the liturgy from families of color.

Rather than being innate, "racism is taught," said Bishop Garcia -- and it can be unlearned.

"I think it's when we get to know people that we break down those kinds of injustices and realize how much alike we are," he said.

As he begins to build the new committee -- which he said will be "broad-based," with members from "throughout the country" -- Bishop Garcia said, "My hope is that we can learn from each other where good works have been done to break down barriers and create moments of healing and reconciliation. … We can all be a better country, we can all be a better world and certainly we can be a better church."