WASHINGTON — Although Catholic leaders across the country called
the April 20 jury verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial a moment of justice, they
also stressed there is still a lot of work to do to move toward healing.
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Minneapolis and St. Paul called
the verdict — which found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty on all
counts for his role in the death of George Floyd last spring — “a sobering
moment for our community.”
“The decision by a jury of peers punctuates the grief that
has gripped the Twin Cities in these last months and underscores the
soul-searching that has taken place in homes, parishes and workplaces across
the country as we together confront the chasm that exists between the
brokenness of our world and the harmony and fraternity that our creator
intends,” he said.
The archbishop said he was praying for healing in the nation’s
communities in this challenging time and for comfort for the Floyd family and
for all who mourn and seek justice.
In an April 21 statement, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory
said he echoed Archbishop Hebda’s call for “peace and nonviolence in all
of our communities.” He also urged people to renew their commitment to
respect each other and remember their shared humanity.
Other bishops around the country echoed this response soon after
verdict was issued as many were gathered outside in Minneapolis and around TV
sets and phones across the country awaiting the jury’s decision in the late
afternoon that came after more than 10 hours of deliberation over two days.
Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori said the “just
verdict” should bring “more than a sigh of relief,” stressing
that it should “spur us on in the peaceful but persistent struggle for
racial justice, for genuine police reform and toward the creation of peaceful
cities and neighborhoods.”
He also said the continued work is up to everyone in
“overcoming racism, prejudice and other injustices.”
Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said, “Yesterday, the jury
in the trial of Derek Chauvin’s case regarding the tragic and unjust death of
George Floyd delivered its verdict. When officers fail to live up to their
responsibilities, they should be held accountable, as it respects the
victims of their actions as well as the reputation of their fellow
officers. May the family of Mr. Floyd and those affected by his death find
peace.
“Over this past year, many members of our society have recounted
and shared their personal and collective experiences of the evil and sin of
racism, which continues to cause unjust harm,” he continued. “We do well as a
nation to listen to these accounts with open hearts and minds. While one
verdict does not erase the painful history of racism in our society, I hope and
pray that those who have experienced racism’s dehumanizing character will allow
this news to assist them in their healing.
“Let us take this moment to recommit ourselves, again, to
joining with all people of goodwill to address racial inequality in our
communities and to working together to build a just and peaceful society.
Together, by the grace of God, may we achieve greater understanding and move
forward in confident hope in the transforming power of Christ,” Bishop Burbidge
said.
More reaction
Bishop Michael W. Fisher of Buffalo, N.Y., said the jury’s
“verdict of accountability” was an “important step in healing
the deep wounds of racial tension.”
He said the image of Floyd’s confrontation with police and the
final moments of life, “will forever challenge us and must always compel
us to create a more compassionate and just society, where all enjoy equal
rights and protections under the law.”
Chauvin’s high-profile trial was three weeks long and included
testimony from dozens of witnesses and hours of video footage. But just because
the trial is over does not mean underlying issues are resolved, another bishop
said.
“We must still face the reality that we are not done with
racism,” said Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Mo. “In our
own communities, including in the Diocese of Jefferson City, individuals are
being humiliated and denigrated because of their race. Their human dignity is
being crushed and defiled because they are seen as ‘other’ or ‘less
than.'”
In a statement, he said, “Violence motivated by racism must
stop,” and he asked people to pray for this to happen, urging an
“awakening of consciences in every American, but especially in our
faithful.”
Bishop John E. Stowe of Lexington, Ky., president of Pax Christi
USA, added his voice to those who said the verdict in the case of Floyd’s death
could be the start of something new, saying it “marks the beginning of an
era of accountability for the violation of human dignity and the taking of
human life by those in power.”
He also said the jury’s decision affirms the message
“shouted on our streets for nearly a year: George Floyd’s life matters,
Black lives matter. Let us pray that a precedent has been set that will allow
people of color to know that their lives are to be protected by law enforcement
and that there will be consequences when they are not.”
The bishop pointed out that what happened to Floyd was not an
isolated event, saying: “There are many other families who are longing for
this kind of justice and recognition of the worth of the lives of their loved
ones; we must work to make this verdict the norm rather than the
exception.”
The nation’s bishops were not the only Catholic leaders to
publicly react to the long-anticipated verdict. Leaders of Catholic
organizations also were quick to issue statements or respond on social media to
the jury’s decision and its implications.
Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic
Charities USA, offered prayers for Floyd’s family and similarly echoed the call
for the nation to do more.
“While there may be a brief sense of relief that justice has
been served, ” she said, “we must acknowledge that, as a country, we
still have a lot of work to do to eradicate the pervasive racism and continued
disregard for human life that continues to play out in communities across the
country.”
She said Catholic Charities “remains committed to addressing
issues of inequality and discrimination, by leading conversations on race,
speaking up for the under-served and providing resources to remain educated on
this systemic issue.”
Similarly, Mercy Sister Mary Haddad, president and CEO of the
Catholic Health Association of the United States, said the verdict in the
Chauvin case should bring people together in a renewed commitment to racial and
social justice.
She also said the nation’s Catholic health care ministry sees
racism as a public health crisis and is “committed to addressing health
disparities and achieving health equity. “
Other sisters responding to the verdict included the general
council of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Mich., who said: “the nation
takes the collective breath that Mr. Floyd was denied.”
The sisters said they grieve the loss of Floyd’s life and pray
that Chauvin “may come to understand the monumental consequences of his
lethal actions.”
And like many others, they urged Americans to take action against
racism that “for too long has imperiled the lives of our Black brothers
and sisters, sickened our souls and debased our democracy.” They said they
would similarly step up, saying they would “commit to doing all we can to
that end.”
Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille, who is
a longtime activist against the death penalty, similarly viewed the verdict as
a sobering call to do more.
In an April 20 tweet she said: “The conviction of one
individual is a small measure of justice when we have a system that remains
plagued with centuries-worth of racism in the law and in practice. I pray that
this will be a catalyst for real change.”
Lay leaders also responded to the trial’s outcome which captured
so many people not just in the past three weeks but in the last 11 months since
Floyd’s death.
John Gehring, Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life,
a Washington-based advocacy group, echoed the sense of a “deep breath of
relief for this decision,” but he similarly coupled with an acknowledgment
of the ongoing challenge ahead.
“We can never forget that George Floyd and many others
killed by police violence begged for breath they were denied. In that
remembering, the struggle for justice continues,” he said.
Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University,
likewise noted the somberness of this case, saying that while people cheered
the verdict, “the bitter reality of the Chauvin case is that George Floyd
remains deceased” as do other Black men and women who were killed by
police officers in the past year.
“No single verdict can restore justice for the Black and
Brown communities so devastated by official violence and real oppression,”
she said.
But she also recognized steps that can be taken, like ones
happening now on Trinity’s campus.
“We believe that the most effective way to create social
change is to make sure that our Black and Latina graduates have opportunities
to become leaders in a wide range of professions, forging pathways in places
where persons of color have been excluded or under-represented for far too
long,” she wrote.
McGuire acknowledged that the campus effort “may seem like a
long way from that Minnesota street where George Floyd lost his life,” but
she sees it as a step in the right direction.
