The Catholic Church and Casteism

Casteism in the Catholic Church of India

A divided Catholic cemetery in Trichy of Tamil Nadu State, 
India (the portion on the left is for the upper-caste and
the one on the right is for the lower-caste Catholics)

Photo courtesy: bbc.co.uk/  

What is casteism? Casteism is prejudice or antagonism directed against someone of a different caste in the Indian Hindu society. Hindus, even after their conversion to other religions -- including Christianity -- do maintain some sort of casteism among themselves. 

Casteism comes from the word 'caste.' According to the Wikipedia, a caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy (the custom of marrying within one's own caste or group), hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. 

According to the BBC, India's Hindu caste system is among the world's oldest forms of surviving social stratification. This caste system is more than 3,000 years old and it divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma (work or occupation) and dharma (religion or duty). 

Ancient India's religious texts, called the Vedas, speaks of the caste system that divides Hindus into four main categories -- starting from the top to bottom -- the Brahmins (priests, academics or teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors, kings or rulers, and administrators), Vaishyas (merchants, landowners or farmers, herders, craftspeople), and Shudras (manual labourers, peasants or farm workers, servants). Later, a fifth group or caste called the Dalits (outcasts or untouchables), emerged and they are persons, from the first four groups, who have been condemned and driven out of their individual caste because of their serious sins, transgressions, or crimes. They, then, sought refuge among other similarly condemned people, whose professions are considered 'dirty.' They work as street sweepers, latrine cleaners, leather workers,  etc. 

 In later ages, some Indian Hindus converted to Christianity but did not abandon their earlier socio-religious caste system. In spite of Christ's teaching "love your neighbor as yourself," they hung on to the caste system, which is more or less present among both the Catholic priestly class and laypersons. In name, they are Catholic ("without any bias towards others"), but in practice, they are still caste Hindus.    

During the 2003 'ad limina' (required periodic) visits of the Catholic archbishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, and Pondicherry-Cuddalore of India, Pope John Paul II had reminded them that "It is the Church's obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own society." 

Please read the following to see the situation of casteism in the Indian Catholic Church:

• India's Caste System (britannica.com)
• Christian caste (britannica.com)
• Caste System among Indian Christians
• Dalit Christian 
• Caste, Catholicism and Indian Culture
• Catholics and Caste System
• Not even the Church escapes India's caste system (Sept. 10, 2013)
• Dalit Catholics continue to battle upper caste aggression (Aug. 2, 2015)
• Discrimination within the Church (June 6, 2016)
• Protesters decry caste prejudice within India's Catholic Church (March 24, 2016)
• 'Stop caste discrimination in the Church' (March 12, 2017)
• Catholic Church in India condemns caste system in new policy document empowering Dalits (Dec. 20, 2016)
• Indian Dalits find no refuse from caste in Christianity (Sept. 14, 2010)
• Is the Church finally acting against India's caste system? (May 5, 2017)
• The Indian caste system is based on racism (Feb. 6, 2016)
• Dalit Life in Catholic Church of South India: Dimension of Discrimination (July 2013)
• Kerala Christians and the Caste System (1976)
• Introduction to Caste in Christianity: Case of Kerala (Nov. 27, 2015)
• South Indian Christians, Purity/Impurity, and the Caste System (by D. Mosse) (1996)
• India: Catholic bishops issue document on Dalits, condemn caste system (Dec. 18, 2016)
• Papal intervention sought to end Dalit discrimination in India (Sept. 11, 2019)
• Caste off: The plight of Catholic Dalits in India (Feb. 8, 2013)
• India's Christian Untouchables: Christian Dalits fight for equality in their communities and nation (Nov. 2012)
• Dalit Christians in India file complaint with UN against the Vatican (Accuse Church of rampant caste-based discrimination) (June 29, 2015)
• Separate cemeteries for Dalits (June 4, 2011)
• Unchristian things in the Indian Church (a chapter of a book)
• Pope Francis' silence disappoints India's Dalit Catholics (Oct. 16, 2019)
• Dalit Catholics continue to battle upper caste aggression (Aug. 2, 2015)

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 2

Pope Francis celebrating Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

Photo courtesy: Remo Casilli/Pool and AP via forbes.com/

Pope Francis in a recent Angelus prayer service condemned "the sin of racism" and the violence in the U.S. He said: "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 being." He also specifically mentioned the police murder of George Floyd, a black person, in Minneapolis in the U.S.  To read more, click here. 

Please read the following to learn more on the Catholic Church and Racism:

• Archbishop Wilton Gregory on racism: Significant Moment for real national transition (June 5, 2020)
• Race and faith: the Catholic Church, clerical fascism, and the shaping of Italian anti-semitism and racism (Nov. 2018)
• The Catholic Church Takes on Racism (May 1, 2018)
• Catholic bishops take on racism in society and the church (Nov. 13, 2017)
• 5 Quotes From Pope Francis on Racism, Xenophobia and Immigration (May 15, 2017)
• Selection of quotes from Pope Francis on equality, fraternity, racism (June 3, 2020)
• Racism in Catholic Church 'driving minorities away' (Oct. 16, 2000)
• Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence (a book by Laurie M. Cassidy and Alex Mikulich, Editors) (2007)
• What Black Lives Matter can teach Catholics about racial injustice (Feb. 1, 2019)
• The sins of racism and family separation erode the sanctity of life (Feb. 9, 2019)
• Nigerian priest leaves German parish after receiving death threat (April 17, 2020)
• We liberal Catholics must get serious about racial justice (June 4, 2020)
• U.S. Bishops: Racism Is a Persistent Evil (Nov. 26, 2018)
• American Catholics, racism and imperialism (by David Doyle) (1968)
• The Catholic Church's shameful history of Native American abuses (January 20, 2019)
• Tennessee Catholic Priest Blames Racist Dog for His Rejection of New Black Cleaner (Aug. 14, 2019)
• When America Hated Catholics (In the late 19th century, statesmen feared that Catholic immigrants were less than civilized (and less than white) (Sept. 23, 2015)
• Black Catholics in the United States and the History of Race in the Church (Nov. 5, 2017)
• Black Catholics called to 'change the narrative' about race in America (July 10, 2017)
• Racism in the Catholic Church -- A Catholic Conversation (2018)
• White Catholics have 'to talk about race and to admit their racism' (July 27, 2016)
• Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good (2008)
• Catholic Church Should Confront Racism and Misogyny, Says Scholar (Oct. 15, 2018)
• Brothers and Sisters to Us (US Catholic Bishops' pastoral letter on Racism, 1979)
• Combatting Racism (USCCB: A collection of articles, write-ups, statements, etc.)
• The Church and Racism  (a document of the Pontifical Commission "Justitia et Pax") (Feb. 1989)
• Responding to the Sin of Racism 
• Practicing What We Preach: White Catholics and the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta (Fall 2005)

(The End)

To go to the beginning of this write-up, click on 

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 1

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 1

Several decade-old racist Catholic demonstration in the USA 
with the placard "Jesus did not choose nonwhite apostles," 
meaning 'Jesus chose white apostles.' 

Since the late 19th century, Jesus and his apostles, although being 
Jews were thought to belong to the Caucasoid race as the whites, 
Middle Eastern people, and most people of north-west and south 
India. Latter scientists began to propose that Semites -- Jews and 
other Middle Eastern people -- are not white, but brown or 
dark brown. To see how Jesus Christ really looked like, 
click on the following: The Real Face of Jesus  

Photo courtesy: stdominicsmedia.com/

Catholics participate in the black civil rights 
movement in the USA in the 1960s

Photo courtesy: Marquette University Archives via thrivingparish.org/

"What Is Racism? 

"Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39).

"Racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that, because all humans share a common origin, they are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and—all too often—hatred. Cain forgets this truth in his hatred of his brother. Recall the words in the First Letter of John: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him” (1 Jn 3:15). Racism shares in the same evil that moved Cain to kill his brother. It arises from suppressing the truth that his brother Abel was also created in the image of God, a human equal to himself. Every racist act—every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity, or place of origin—is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God. In these and in many other such acts, the sin of racism persists in our lives, in our country, and in our world. Racism comes in many forms. It can be seen in deliberate, sinful acts. In recent times, we have seen bold expressions of racism by groups as well as individuals. The re-appearance of symbols of hatred, such as nooses and swastikas in public spaces, is a tragic indicator of rising racial and ethnic animus. All too often, Hispanics and African Americans, for example, face discrimination in hiring, housing, educational opportunities, and incarceration. Racial profiling frequently targets Hispanics for selective immigration enforcement practices, and African Americans, for suspected criminal activity. There is also the growing fear and harassment of persons from majority Muslim countries. Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants, and refugees. Finally, too often racism comes in the form of the sin of omission, when individuals, communities, and even churches remain silent and fail to act against racial injustice when it is encountered." 
--Compiled from Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love -- a pastoral letter against racism (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 2018)

In spite of Biblical and Catholic Church teachings on love, justice, and human dignity and equality, a good number of Catholic Church members (both the laypersons and the hierarchy) are not immune from racist behaviour.   

To learn more about the positive and negative aspects of the Catholic Church and racism, please read the following:

• Catholic Church and race
• Racism, Inclusion, and Diversity
• Racism in the Catholic Church (Feb. 13, 2018)
• Race in the American Catholic Imagination (July 24, 2018)
• The Bishops' letter fails to recognize that racism is a white problem (Feb. 20, 2019)
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism (Fall 2009)
• There is time for the church to support black Catholics -- if it has the will to do so (Sept. 18, 2o19)
• americamagazine.org: BLACK CATHOLICS
• All Catholics must speak out for equality, against racism, say leaders (June 3, 2020)
• How can Catholics help lead the fight against racism? (May 29, 2020)
• In fits and starts, US Church moving to confront 'sin' of racism (April 8, 2019)
• The Catholic Church and the Race Question (a book by Yves Congar) (1953)
• Catholic Church sometimes has been part of racism problem, says Bishop (Nov. 14, 2017)
• The U.S. Catholic Church's last major effort on racism was in 1979, Charlottesville woke it up (Aug. 23, 2017)
• Catholicism and Racism (by C. Davis) (1998)
• Presidential Address: Confessions of a White Catholic Racist Theologian (by J. Nilson) (2003)
• Catholic Racism and Its Opponents (by J. Connelly) (2007)
• The Church and Racism (Feb. 1989)
• Institutional Racism and the Catholic Church (a book by Dolores Foster Williams)
• Can Prejudice Be Cured?; "The Theology of Racism"
• The History of Black Catholics in America (June 7, 2018)
• There Are More Black Catholics in the U.S. Than Members of the A.M.E. Church (Nov. 5, 2017)
• Pushing Back Against Racism (Feb. 22, 2019)
• Racism has no place within Catholicism (Feb. 4, 2019)
• In God's Image: Pastoral Letter on Racism (Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, USA) (Sept. 12, 2003)
• Combating Racism (US Conf. of Catholic Bishops)
• Racism, Xenophobia, and Migration in Italy, a Post-Catholic Country (by G. Dotti) (2020)
• Catholicism and the "Negro Question": Religion, Racism, and Antiracism in a Transnational Perspective (United States of America and Europe, 1934 - 1968) (Dec. 4, 2019)
• Racism in Italy (Wikipedia)
• More than half of Italians in poll say racist acts are justifiable (Nov. 12, 2019)
• "Framing Racism Post Vatican II: Critical Race Theory and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (by A. Moras, 2012)
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism (by Fred Kammer, S.J.) (June 11, 2019)
• Combatting racism through faith, education (March 2, 2020)
• U.S. church urged to turn attention to racism before fractures widen (July 15, 2016)
• Unpacking the Intersection of Race and Racism within Catholicism (2018)
• Catholic Social Teaching on Discrimination and Racism

(Continued)

The Quotation of the Week (March 8 - 14, 2020)

Above design by Jerome D'Costa

Argentinian Cardinal Becomes Pope Francis

A seagull, as if a symbol of the Holy Spirit, on top of the chimney that announces each papal voting. After the four black-smoke-votes, this gull was sitting on the chimney for quite some time as if signifying the good news that is about to come at the fifth voting.

The fifth vote in the evening of March 13 brought about the positive result of a pope just elected and the white smoke from the chimney is announcing it for the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square below.

St. Peter's Square is packed with eagerly-waiting spectators from around the world.

Newly-elected Pope Francis appears at the papal balcony and waves at the waiting crowd.

Pope Francis watching the crowd below from the papal balcony.

A close-up of Pope Francis at the balcony above St. Peter's Square, Rome

 Photos courtesy: (From top: Photos 1, 4, 5 & 6 - CBC News, photos 2 & 3 - BBC)

Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, (76), Archbishop of Buenos Aires of Argentina, was elected the 266^th pope yesterday to succeed Pope Benedict XVI who abdicated on February 28. He took the papal name of ‘Francis’ in honour of St. Francis of Assissi, known for his austere life and solidarity with the poor. 

He Is the First

With the election of Pope Francis, history has been created in the Catholic Church. The new pope is the first non-European in the last 1,000 years. He is the first pope from the Americas. He is also the first Jesuit ever to be a pope.

He Is a Humble but Vocal Person

 Those who know him say that Pope Francis was a humble and austere person emphasizing on the social justice. Instead of living in a palatial building, he as the archbishop and later as cardinal lived in an apartment, often used ordinary public bus as a means of transport, at times cooked his own meals, and visited local slums in impoverished areas of Buenos Aires.

The TIME magazine says: “He considers social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, to be essential business of the church.” He is also said to have criticized his fellow church leaders “of hypocrisy and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.”

The TIME also reports: “Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brother, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit,” Cardinal Bergoglio told Argentina’s priest last year.

Son of Italian Immigrants in Argentina

Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. He is one of five brothers and sisters whose parents were Italian immigrants. His father was a railroad worker and his mother tended the house and family. 

At the age of 21, he entered the Jesuit Order. Later, he taught literature, philosophy, theology and psychology. 

Since 1998, he was the archbishop of Buenos Aires and, since 2001, the cardinal.

It is worth mentioning that he has only one lung. Due to infection in his teen years, one of his lungs had to be removed. 

To know more of Pope Francis and his background, you may read “Pope Francis: The Life andCareer of the First South American Pontiff.”