Race and Catholic understanding of diversity

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Msgr. Charles PopeQuestion: There is mention today of something called “critical race theory,” which basically purports that race is socially constructed and that white people use this construct to rule over other races. Some say the theory is an offshoot of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud’s “critical theory.” Do you have any thoughts on this theory?

Ann Barney, via email

Answer: I have little personal knowledge of critical race theory. That said, the Catholic approach to race and ethnicity steers a middle course between recognizing and appreciating diversity but remembering always that we are equal in dignity before God and each other. The only true distinction that God himself introduced in the human family was in terms of sex — “male and female he created them” (Gn 1:27). As such, there is a truth to race and ethnicity being social constructs. While it is true that we can notice differences among ourselves — for example, skin color, hair, the shape of eyes, noses and so forth, these are superficial differences. We all share the same human nature with all its glory and all its problems.

I have pastored in African American parishes for most of my priesthood and can assure you that Blacks make many distinctions among themselves related to skin color, education, how one talks, etc. This is true in other ethnic groups. For example, many Americans think of Hispanic immigrants as a monolith. They are not. Mexicans are quite distinct from Cubans or Guatemalans or Columbians, etc. The point here is that both macro- and micro-distinctions are a form of tribalism and is a human tendency, not just a white tendency.

It is not wrong to notice differences if we appreciate the gift of diversity and the gifts that certain groups possess in a particular way. But if we use these distinctions to indulge irrational fears, superiority or hatred and strife, we sin and fail to accept that we need others to complete and complement us. We also fall into error if we overemphasize these matters. Some of us who are older still remember the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, who longed for the day when people would be judged by the content of their character not the color of their skin. In our current climate, this dream has been replaced by an obsession of sorts, known as “identity politics” in which what you are is more important than who you are.

Finally, and to reiterate, a Catholic approach celebrates diversity and emphasizes equality in dignity and the complementarity we need in order to possess together all the gifts that God has given the human family.

The saintly Samaritan woman

Question: I am curious about the Roman Catholic interpretation of the Samaritan woman at the well. She is honored as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Is she a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, and what do we know about her life after she met Jesus?

Cathy Strittmater, via email

Answer: She is not a listed as a saint on the Roman calendar, and we know little (other than from legends and traditions) about her life after meeting Jesus

It is true that the Orthodox churches have both named and honored as a saint the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. Jn 4:4-26). In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions, she is named Photine (Φωτεινή), meaning “the luminous one.” Sometimes her name is rendered Photini or Photina.

It is hard to overestimate her significance in the early Church. In the Gospel of John, it is said that Jesus “had to go through Samaria” (4:4). Physically, this was not true. Most Jews journeyed east to avoid going through Samaria. But Jesus “had” to go through Samaria. Why? To plant the seed of Gospel there. Jesus, unlike most Jews, loved the Samaritans and also the Gentiles. The initial fruit of this encounter was that a whole town came out to hear Jesus for two days, at the testimony of this woman. Later, we see further fruit of Jesus’ work and likely that of “Photine” when Phillip and others go north into Samaria (due to a persecution in Jerusalem) and are able to make many converts (cf. Acts 8:14). Hence her role and the work of Jesus were an essential preparation for the Gospel.

You are certainly free to call her by this name and venerate her great role and sanctity even though she is not officially listed in our calendar.

Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, D.C., and writes for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. at blog.adw.org. Send questions to msgrpope@osv.com.

Msgr. Charles Pope

Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, D.C., and writes for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. at blog.adw.org. Send questions to msgrpope@osv.com.