Speaking from My Pain
Today, I realized that more than a week has passed since Leslye’s Labyrinth has published. As much as I enjoy my writing practice, the context from which the writing flows can be daunting. Transcending my African-American Catholic heart includes acknowledging and processing the impact of the injustice, personal and systemic, that wounds this heart.
In recent days, the blatant cruelty of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government, the acquiescence of the Judicial and Legislative Branches as well as of legacy media are creating a dystopian environment that is anathema to the highest ideals of this nation that offer hope. The worst of our founding ideals including genocide, stolen lands, kidnapped peoples and full citizenship for men in white bodies who owned land were never resolved. As a nation, we have not learned to speak the truth of our past nor of our present.
As a Christian who is a descendant of kidnapped and enslaved Africans, it is distressing to witness the distorted and whitewashed Christianity of slaveholders morph into Christian Nationalism. This is a fundamental threat to our nation’s separation of Church and State. In light of e pluribus unum, we must acknowledge and affirm that this nation was never intended be a theocracy. Considering how the distortion of Christianity contributed to our greatest ills, the voices of people of goodwill from other and no religious traditions can contribute to reframing what can be considered as the Common Good.
Before concluding, I must also acknowledge my deep anger towards a bishop and a cardinal of the Catholic Church in the United States who applauded Charlie Kirk posthumously. While I am aware of only two, Robert Barron and Timothy Dolan, undoubtedly others have done the same. As a Catholic laywoman in a Black body, I long ago came to terms with people who share my Catholic faith having different opinions. However, it was very disturbing to hear these men of privilege and authority as well as with media access to honor one who denounced empathy and promoted racism. Having worked for an archdiocese, I know how easy it is for society’s polarization to enter and influence the chancery and the parishes. May those in positions of authority learn to lean into the discomfort of encountering us on the margins. They may be surprised to also encounter Christ here.