More priests and pastors should be talking about racism from the pulpit, says Msgr. Jim Lisante of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Masseapequa Park, NY.
"This whole experience of what's happening in the South is an opportunity and an obligation for every clergyman — Islamic, Jewish, Protestant, Catholic — to preach time and time again about the reality that racism is a sin," Lisante told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
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"It's amazing to me that right after what happened in South Carolina happened, I asked around different people to see what the priest or minister had preached on, and in many Catholic Churches they talked about the pope's encyclical on the environment," he explained.
"What a teachable moment we had to say, 'Everyone has to grapple with the racism in their own heart, all of us are imperfect in that regard, and this is a great opportunity to learn and hopefully to change our hearts,'" he said. "What a missed opportunity."
Desiree Adaway, principal of The Adaway Group, joined Lisante on "MidPoint" and said that to combat the problem, "we have to deal with the systematic institutional racism that keeps people separated."
"You have to deal with some of these large issues that disconnect us, that not only disconnect us morally, but economically, socially, and where we live," she explained.
"That is the work that has to happen before anybody can feel safe in this country," she added.
Several black churches caught fire and three are under investigation for arson, following the shooting at the Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Adaway told Newsmax TV that "it's horrible" because "churches are sanctuaries and churches are the spiritual and sometimes economic and emotional heart of lots of black communities, and when you burn it, it is a direct call of people trying to make us be obedient."
"It is some group trying to assert dominance over who we are and the lives that we lead," she added.
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