Racial Justice

St. Ignatius Parish is grappling intentionally with the realities of racism and racial unrest in our country, church, and parish. This racial reckoning stems from the murder of George Floyd by police office Derek Chauvin on May 25th, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Father Bonfiglio challenged members of the parish by asking how St. Ignatius could best respond to the issue of racial justice. Out of that, the parish has created an Antiracism Committee and adopted a Strategic Plan for becoming an antiracist parish.

The committee meets every 1^st Tuesday of the month at 5pm via Zoom to plan programs for the parish to grow in its commitment to be antiracist, and track progress on the Antiracism Strategic Plan.

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Discernment Series: Racial Justice offers an opportunity for education and theological reflection to discern ways we can work for racial justice in our daily lives through the framework of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

As a parish, we engage in this series on racial justice because working for racial equity stems directly from our call as followers of Jesus. A man of his own culture, Jesus encountered the Syrophoenician Woman who taught him that his ministry was for all people, not just the people of Israel. He was able to break out of his preconceived notions shared by his cultural background. Consequentially, Jesus preached a message of radical inclusion and acceptance where all might be freed from chains of division and exclusion. This discernment series invites us to follow the lead of Jesus: to prayerfully consider where we are being invited to grow so that we individually and as a parish may work for racial equity.

Secondly, the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus compel us to “walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.” Since our founding as a nation, many racial minorities have had their dignity violated and have been deemed the outcasts of our society. To take up the call of the Society of Jesus in our own context is to work for racial equity and reconciliation. Our hope as a parish will be more equipped to do this work following this discernment series.

This series was originally published in 2021, twice a week, starting the week of the Baptism of the Lord and ending in Pentecost. 

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