US bishops condemn killing of
George Floyd, deplore violence and destruction
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| The spot where George Floyd was taken into police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US. |
As widespread violence and unrest grip the United States
over the killing of yet another unarmed African-American man, the country’s
Catholic bishops condemn the act saying, “racism has been tolerated for too
long”.
By Robin Gomes
Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed the US bishops’
sentiments in a statement on Sunday following the death of George Floyd on May
25 in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The bishops also deplored the “self-destructive and
self-defeating” violence, which they said “does not advance the cause of racial
equality and human dignity”.
Footage of a white police officer using his knee to pin the
46-year old Floyd to the ground, while the handcuffed man pleaded he could not
breathe, went viral on social media, whipping up nationwide violent protests
Killing of George Floyd – senseless and brutal
“The killing of George Floyd was senseless and brutal, a sin
that cries out to heaven for justice,” the US bishops’ president wrote, sharing
the “outrage of the black community and those who stand with them in
Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and across the country”.
However, the bishops pointed out that “the cruelty and
violence” that Floyd suffered “does not reflect on the majority of good men and
women in law enforcement, who carry out their duties with honor”.
They “trust that civil authorities will investigate his killing
carefully and make sure those responsible are held accountable,”
Racial injustice
Archbishop Gomez said it is understandable that the ensuing
protests “reflect the justified frustration and anger of millions of our
brothers and sisters who even today experience humiliation, indignity, and
unequal opportunity only because of their race or the color of their skin.”
“It should not be this way in America. Racism has been
tolerated for far too long in our way of life.”
The killing of George Floyd has opened old wounds of racism
in the US. On February 23, Ahmaud Marquez Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old
African-American man, was fatally shot near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.
Then on March 13, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman,
was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers. On May
6, Dreasjon ‘Sean’ Reed on May 6 was killed by Indianapolis police.
Recalling Martin Luther King, Jr. who described riots as the
language of the unheard, Archbishop Gomez said “we should be doing a lot of
listening right now” to hear what people are saying through their pain.
“We need to finally root out the racial injustice that still
infects too many areas of American society.”
Unjustified violence and destruction
At the same time, the US bishops deplored the violence as
“self-destructive and self-defeating”, adding, “nothing is gained by violence
and so much is lost”.
“Burning and looting communities, ruining the livelihoods of
our neighbors, does not advance the cause of racial equality and human
dignity.
While inviting all to look forward to “true and lasting
change”, the bishops called for honouring the memory of George Floyd “by
removing racism and hate” from their hearts and to commit themselves to build a
“community of life, liberty, and equality for all”.
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