How Church Teaching Can Help Explain Why 'Black Lives Matter'

[blackforest]

I love this article from the Archbishop of Baltimore! Especially on CAF, I’d love to see this conversation become less political and more theological.

Archbishop Lori: How church teaching can help explain why ‘Black Lives Matter’ | America Magazine

 

[adamhovey1988]

I don’t have a problem with the slogan BLM, I have an issue with the group BLM, and at this point, it’s impossible to separate the two.

 

[blackforest]

Did you read the article? Archbishop Lori already addressed this point.

 

[VanitasVanitatum]

I have an issue with the group BLM, and at this point, it’s impossible to separate the two.

Is it really? The words can be rearanged so it has no correlation to the group anyways.

 

[puer.dei]

and at this point, it’s impossible to separate the two.

Really? I don’t understand that. (seriously; not being snarky)

 

[puer.dei]

Especially on CAF, I’d love to see this conversation become less political and more theological.

Sure would be more appropriate than some of the discussions that have gone on here.

Great article, thank you so much for posting it.

 

[Crusader13]

I’d love to see this conversation become less political and more theological.

Unfortunately, the movement is anything but theological. The article is an attempt to take back the BLM ideology from the political and social justice warriors who have become its mouthpiece.

His article isn’t necessarily bad, but I don’t believe he’s being intellectually honest about what the BLM movement is. He’s attempting to validate BLM by drawing comparisons to the theological aspect of the church’s social justice beliefs.

In actuality the Church’s focus is not on those issues of social justice or the environment or immigration. The Church’s main goal is the salvation of souls. Our morals and beliefs should be reflected in our behavior as Catholics; which would naturally have a positive influence on these other issues.

BLM is not the organization nor battle cry by which Catholics should be rallying around. If he wants to show how we as Catholics can conquer racism, poverty and other evils of the world, he should have written about the necessity of a belief in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

 

[Nigel7]

Archbishop Lori: "The church’s social teaching offers important insights into the meaning of the phrase “Black Lives Matter.”

“Black Lives Matter” is not a phrase, but rather a company logo and political mantra encompassing and embracing very very grave evils.

“Black lives matter” is a phrase, Archbishop. “Black Lives Matter” is NOT. BIG dif between the two that the Archbishop fails terribly to discern.

“Black Lives Matter” is a violent Marxist political organization. Their founders and leaders are professed “trained marxists”, promote violence against the family and society, and are full of deceit and lies.

Go to their website and read their objectives, to “disrupt the nuclear family”, promote their “queer logic” agenda, etc. etc.

SO, to the contrary, Archbishop Lori,
“Black Lives Matter” should NOT resonate with ANYONE who TRULY embraces the principles of Catholic social teaching.

 

[OddBird]

BIG dif between the two that the Archbishop fails terribly to discern.

Have you actually read the article ? Archbishop Lori explicitly states, I quote :

At the outset, it is important to clarify that my efforts here are not intended to address, and certainly not to endorse, the specific political organization legally known as the BlackLivesMatter Global Network. Many ideological platforms and tactical strategies promoted under the umbrella of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” are in direct contradiction to church teaching and should rightfully be rejected by faithful Catholics.

What Archbishop Lori is doing is precisely giving new meaning to the words “Black Lives Matter” from a Catholic point of view, not blindly condoning a Marxist – or anything else – agenda.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I frankly don’t like the slogan “Black Lives Matter” and never did because not only is their organization open to all kinds of morally bad influences, but also the slogan by itself gives a wrong impression rather than the “Black Lives Matter Too” meaning it was supposed to have.

Having said that, I share the concerns about police violence and overaggression (although I don’t automatically find every police response to a black person to be violent or overaggressive, not every case is George Floyd) and don’t really need a theological explanation to tell me to be concerned for situations that harm or scare minority groups.

Archbishop Lori is a good guy and maybe this article, and the workshop that Philly archdiocese is having on race, etc will help some people. I just find it to be overkill. I don’t need to read six or ten paragraphs to be reasonably concerned about a police officer kneeling on a man’s neck for 8 or 9 minutes on camera.

 

[Wesrock]

adamhovey1988:

I have an issue with the group BLM, and at this point, it’s impossible to separate the two.

Is it really? The words can be rearanged so it has no correlation to the group anyways.

Now I’m hearing Yoda say it.

 

[Inbonum]

I would say that Rebecca Dussault has some good reflections on BLM and compares with Church’s teaching.

Why all lives are sacred

 

[Crusader13]

Have you actually read the article ? Archbishop Lori explicitly states, I quote :

At the outset, it is important to clarify that my efforts here are not intended to address, and certainly not to endorse, the specific political organization legally known as the BlackLivesMatter Global Network. Many ideological platforms and tactical strategies promoted under the umbrella of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” are in direct contradiction to church teaching and should rightfully be rejected by faithful Catholics.

Yes I agree he’s attempting to separate the two aspects of the BLM movement. However, he’s trying to save the slogan BLM by attaching to it a sense of action and justification based upon the current state of affairs in the US.

“To be sure, the words, “Black Lives Matter” mean different things to different people. Nonetheless, those same words should resonate with us as Catholics and indeed with all those who embrace the principles of Catholic social teaching. More than that, they should spur us on to action…”

However, as many people have stated, BLM is not the rallying cry or even the umbrella by which we should all be under. There are those who are genuinely interested in combating the sins of racism and don’t share the Marxist ideology of BLM, but they may be misinformed as to what the organization behind BLM actually is. Therefore they endorse the slogan without giving any thought to what’s truly behind it.

Abp. Lori is trying to say that the slogan BLM is still justified because he’s separating the cause from the organization. That’s naïve, because the cause isn’t centered solely on black lives and if racism is to be combated, it needs to be combated for all ethnicities.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

if racism is to be combated, it needs to be combated for all ethnicities.

This is a good point. There are significant areas of the country where there are relatively few blacks, but a great many Latinos who are suffering similarly from prejudice, injustice, abuses by law enforcement etc. Also areas where the same thing is happening to indigenous people.

 

[blackforest]

He’s attempting to validate BLM by drawing comparisons to the theological aspect of the church’s social justice beliefs.

“Black lives matter” is a phrase, Archbishop. “ B lack L ives M atter” is NOT. BIG dif between the two that the Archbishop fails terribly to discern.

He discerns it in the second paragraph:

Many ideological platforms and tactical strategies promoted under the umbrella of the phrase “Black Lives Matter” are in direct contradiction to church teaching and should rightfully be rejected by faithful Catholics. Rather, the question before us as Catholics is this: Is there a truth reflected in these words that transcends partisan platforms and ideological constructs, a truth that indeed resonates with the Gospel values that flow from our faith?

If he wants to show how we as Catholics can conquer racism, poverty and other evils of the world, he should have written about the necessity of a belief in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

He’s writing about Catholic Social Teaching, an indisputable, Magisterial teaching from our Church hierarchy that is directly intertwined with the salvation of souls.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

According to Dr Swain, a black woman, BLM is a Marxist organization. Listen to the interview.

Also read their agenda on the BLM site. The word “Comrade,” is used in their rhetoric the same way the Communists in the former Soviet Union and Mao’s China did.

 

[blackforest]

Archbishop Lori already addresses this. Please read his article.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I know, I too have America Magazine Subscribed on FB and saw the article yesterday.

I’m addressing the reality of the BLM organization and how people are blindly supporting them.

 

[Jeanne_S]

I really wish the Bishops would read up on what the BLM really embraces.Abortion on demand,including black babies ,as well as myriad other issues that are antithetical to Church teachings.

 

[blackforest]

Bishop Lori addresses this. Please read his article.