Archbishop Thomas Wenski issued this statement June 3, 2020, in response to the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing unrest throughout the country:
“Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community”: This was the title of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last book, written one year before his assassination in 1968. More than 50 years later, the question posed by the title of Dr. King’s book has lost none of its timeliness. America continues to deal with the sad legacy of racism as well as with growing social and economic inequality that has been exasperated by our throwaway culture and the globalization of indifference. As we face a health crisis, an economic crisis and a societal crisis, chaos cannot be an option.
As Pope Francis said in his Wednesday audience of June 3, 2020:
“...we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life. At the same time, we have to recognize that the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost.”
All Americans of good will are united in denouncing the unjustified killing of George Floyd. We also should be united in denouncing the deaths of those who lost their lives in the ensuing violence that has plagued our cities, including those police officers who were killed in the line of duty. America is at its best, when the rights of the weak and vulnerable are protected and not viewed as expendable. America is at its strongest, when all our institutions promote the common good and work for the advantage of everyone.
Today, America weeps. May her tears water a new flowering of liberty and justice for all.
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