Gloria Purvis hosts a popular Catholic radio show, “Morning Glory,” and a limited television series, “Authentically Free at Last.”Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times

Opinion

‘Racism Makes a Liar of God’

How the American Catholic Church is wrestling with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ms. Bruenig is an Opinion writer.

In 1963, when 250,000 demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and heard the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, they did so under the prayerful invocation of Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle of Washington. He called for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of Christians to the injustice of racial discrimination, condemned violence and praised the activists who had possessed the courage to go forth, like Moses, in search of a beautiful country.

Five decades later, these hopes seem in many respects unfulfilled. About one in five Americans identify as Catholic, and as of 2018, roughly six in 10 white Catholics felt that police killings of Black men were isolated incidents rather than evidence of a profound and lethal bias. Prominent Catholic commentators, including Bill O’Reilly and Father Dwight Longenecker, fear and reject the Black Lives Matter movement.

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A portrait of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a Catholic church in Washington.Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times

American Catholic unease with Black Lives Matter has been particularly noticeable during the protests over the killing of George Floyd. Statues commemorating Junipero Serra, a Spanish friar responsible for founding several of California’s Catholic missions in the early days of European colonization, have been torn down by protesters outraged by what they say was the friar’s eager participation in the conquest of North America, including the torture, enslavement and murder of some of the Native Americans he intended to convert — accusations disputed by many Catholics.

Other religious statues, too, have been damaged by protesters. Coupled with the vandalism of a handful of Catholic churches along with a slew of ordinary buildings, the attacks on statuary have sparked fury among conservative Catholics, confirming what they perhaps already believed: that racial justice movements — or at least this particular one — are antithetical to the Christian faith, rooted in Marxism and atheism.

A Catholic anti-abortion activist, Abby Johnson, tweeted in June: “The Catholic Church is burning. And everyday, liberal Catholics continue to throw matches on Her with sacrilegious nonsense like this,” in reference to an icon showing Mr. Floyd as a Jesus figure, dying in his mother’s arms.

Andrew Sullivan, a Catholic writer, argued in July that Black Lives Matter and Christianity are “fundamentally incompatible world views.”

In a July 5 statement, Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Wash., wrote: “BLM is in conflict with Church teaching regarding marriage, family and the sanctity of life. Moreover, it is disturbing that BLM has not vocally condemned the recent violence that has torn apart so many cities.”

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A cardboard cutout of Pope Francis at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times

Steady in the midst of this supposed conflict between faith and anti-racism efforts is Gloria Purvis. She is a Black Catholic — a designation lonely enough even without intrafaith political strife, as only 3 percent of American Catholics are Black. Ms. Purvis co-hosts a popular Catholic radio show, “Morning Glory,” and a limited television series, “Authentically Free at Last.”

After the murder of Mr. Floyd, Ms. Purvis denounced his killing and the many killings of Black men and women by the police that had come before.

“I said I thought racism was demonic,” she told me over a recent dinner at a Washington bistro. In the weeks following Mr. Floyd’s death, “Morning Glory” featured episodes devoted to saints who resisted racism in their lifetimes, the impact of racial discrimination on society at large and the reality of systemic racism itself.

Her comments set off a wave of recrimination via tweets and emails from indignant listeners.

“Racism makes a liar of God,” she told me. “It says not everyone is made in his image. What a horrible lie from the pit of hell.”

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A crucifix depicting a Black Jesus that belongs to Gloria Purvis.Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times
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Prayer cards for sale in the gift shop at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times

Her radio program was dropped in June by Guadalupe Radio Network, a Catholic station based in Midland, Texas. After outcry on social media, the network released a statement claiming that Ms. Purvis’s show had temporarily been suspended not for her remarks on racism but because the network had detected “a spirit of contention growing among the hosts.” Guadalupe Radio Network did not respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Purvis didn’t buy the explanation: There had always been occasional, friendly disagreements between the show’s hosts, but it had never been an issue before. Ms. Purvis told me the network has neither reinstated her program nor offered any explanation of when or if it plans to air it again. She still believes the show was suspended because of her explicit condemnation of police killings of Black people and her impassioned exhortations against racism.

I asked Ms. Purvis about the toppled statues and the church vandalism, which have been raised repeatedly as evidence of the imagined conflict between Christianity and today’s anti-racism movement.

She sighed. It isn’t that she dismisses sacred sites or representations of the saints; in fact, she told me, she credits a visit to the grotto where Our Lady of Lourdes is believed to have appeared with the birth of her daughter, after a 15-year struggle with infertility. And she was present when Pope Francis canonized Father Serra during the pontiff’s first visit to the United States. But she wishes it were possible to stipulate without incurring rancor that objects of piety have their place in the order of things.

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Ms. Purvis wants to see a sincere confronting of anti-Black racism within the Catholic Church.Credit...Johnathon Kelso for The New York Times

“In the Catholic world, we’re pro-life, right?” she said. “But we were so quick to forget about a man killed in the street in favor of things that can be rebuilt or replaced. This injustice that happened to George Floyd seemed to evaporate as soon as money or property came into it.”

After she spoke out about Mr. Floyd’s death, Ms. Purvis was inundated with videos sent by her fellow faithful, condemning Mr. Floyd with an exaggerated version of his criminal record.

“I thought: Any Catholic who can watch that and not be bothered by it is missing something in their faith,” Ms. Purvis said. Mr. Floyd, she said, “had a right to life. But he also had a right to a natural death.”

That this foundational principle could be overlooked in the name of icons seemed to exhaust and dispirit her.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize racism is a sin,” she said. “Having these discussions makes people uncomfortable.”

It should not be so difficult for so many Christians to affirm that yes, Black lives matter, without conditions or complaints. “We are being called to love our neighbor,” Ms. Purvis observed, “and my God, my God, we are failing.”

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Elizabeth Bruenig Is Discussing Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church

Someone argues gun rights are important. You know everybody gets one single bolt action rifle. Now you go hard to reload. Can’t do a whole lot of damage with that, unless you’re very well trained. Nobody gets handguns semiautomatic weapons, et cetera, et cetera. We make that deal down. People need to be able to deal with vermin I suppose in rural areas. But obviously, we have a problem too. The countries have with guns indeed feral hogs. They surround your kids. The only thing the Catholic church concerned with is the communist pope that it has. Other than that buddy I wish we had a communist pope shouldn’t we disarm the police before we disarm ourselves or with those happen at the same time, you know I mean, the police should definitely need your help. So for instance, the Dallas cops who used a bomb removal robot to actually carry a bomb to a wounded criminal who was lying in a parking garage bleeding to death and then blew him up despite the fact that he was shortly going to be unconscious from blood loss. I mean, I don’t think cops should have execution robots right. I think that there are some squads that obviously need to be armed. That’s how it is in the UK in the UK when you would see cops dealing with like you know bicycle altercations as I saw outside my house one time. They usually weren’t like pulling guns on people. They didn’t have guns on them. Indeed They were dealing with bicycle altercations. So you know, I think that you can make those kinds of distinctions. Does the Roman Catholic church have any I’m sorry. And is that thoughts on the accusations by moralist catholics that we shouldn’t support Black Lives Matter because it’s marxist. I never know what people mean when they say marxist. I think probably a good 50% of people who have marxist in their Twitter bios don’t know what they mean when they say they’re marxist. The term has become so vast it’s called calm says concept creep. Right critique drift. I have no idea what people mean when they say it’s Marx as they say it’s atheistic. I would say this at the March for Life there are atheists there are atheists who come for the March for Life and make a big deal of being atheists and catholics embrace them. There are Mormons at the March for Life. Right There are evangelicals at the March for Life. There are all kinds of people at the March for Life and the catholics. They have no problem with it because they’re like, look, this is a cause right. And the cause is this particular thing we’re focusing on here. So if you can link arms with people who are secular or people of different faiths for a cause which it seems we can because it happens every year in January at the March for Life then I don’t understand why you can’t at least identify that this organization, whatever else its intentions or its agenda is the agenda that you know, police should not be killing black people. You know in the street ally George Floyd Orlando Castile and I think you know you can agree on that. And that can be an issue of shared advocacy. It’s not just me. This has this has come up again and again from officials in in the church right. This is actually the view of the hierarchy itself. So if you go and read the letter that we have posted on Catholic social action a letter to all of the United States bishops you can see all of the church figures who we have quoted in favor of this very idea. Right So you know go check it out. Go to Catholic social action see what’s up. I’m not asking you to affirm everything that every organization that is involved in this effort believes. I’m just asking you to affirm this one thing. And I think we can reasonably do that. Yeah police are not allowed to execute criminals. That’s where I kind of disagree with rod Dreher a little bit is just because you’re resisting arrest doesn’t mean the police can execute. You on the spot. Normally we have a trial for that kind of thing. And we put people to death with you know Chinese horse tranquilizers instead of shooting them in the back of the head or whatever crushing their necks and says, how we do things around here aren’t trials overrated. I mean trials have problems you know. But I think that, you know in absence of a better solution you’ve got to render the punishment after the trial would be my perspective. And I don’t think that’s too crazy. I like Coke. I don’t know why people in Texas. Usually like Dr. pepper. It’s not bad. I’ll drink it. But I also call every brown soda Coke. Do you think the left has a problem with tactical unity with other culture factions. Yes we’ll Space Jam to be good while space down line was pretty good. I really, really like Space Jam. I’ll still watch Space Jam. Have I ever tried meditation. Yes, I do every day. Yeah dude, what the hell is up with that Dreyer post. That guy was practically salivating for death. I would recommend reading Alan Jacobs response on his blog. Snakes and ladders a.j. he had a very good kind of you know temperate but I think reasonably alarmed response and you know since then rudd has done a few edits where he expands on you know feeling a little less comfortable with what he originally said than he did at the time. Any words of wisdom on this anniversary of the atomic bombing. Yeah, it was a sin and a crime. All right incinerating thousands and thousands of innocent civilians and also poisoning the ground and many, many people who survived including unborn children in such a way that they would be disabled and maimed for the rest of their lives in the very earth itself would be poisonous. Seems like something that’s pretty diabolical in nature. I did see a guy on Twitter yesterday say that the atomic bombs aren’t real that it was just like a fake like we used conventional bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and somehow faked everyone out into believing we had nukes and then everyone else also started pretending to have nukes. That’s a conspiracy theory that’s obviously wrong, but it’s one I’m going to dig deeper into because it’s kind of amusing and considering the existence of actual nuclear weapons is extraordinarily disturbing. I am a nuclear weapon abolitionist very much in favor of disarmament. Check out the documentary countdown to zero. Very much very much in favor of that. I saw it twice in theaters. Do you believe that the Cardinals only elected Francis because they expected him to die soon. Possibly there is this great verse in Jeremiah the heart is deceitful above all things and wicked beyond compare who can understand it. This is like triply true for Catholic Cardinals. Let’s see how can a formal religious organization. So closely tied to imperialism be liberator free. Well hope springs eternal right. There is such a thing as liberation theology where the colonized peoples of Latin America who had been evangelized and converted to Catholicism by those very Spanish missionaries who showed up centuries before use that same theology to argue for their own liberation. America, of course violently suppressed a lot of that revolutionary activity and the church itself came out against it at the time. Pope Francis has been warmer to liberation theology and liberation theologians than other popes. And I think with good reason for one he is from Latin America. And so he’s seen it on the ground. But obviously, I strongly support that approach. And I do think that this is a fundamentally laboratory faith. Liz can you address the fact that Matt looks exactly like Martin Luther can’t say that I have ever noticed that you have to think about that to get in one of those like strange kind of early modern hats and to take a look. Will my toddler be going to school this year. It’s not up to me now I’ll listen to the local authorities. Do you think that more black people than what is publicized or victimized by police on the daily. I mean, probably right. I gather that’s something that lots of black people deal with. I mean, you know if they’re not reporting it, then we don’t have statistics. So I wouldn’t doubt it. What are you working on these days. Oh, you know this and that. And the other. I’m going to have a couple pieces. God willing about the conventions as they happen later this month. Do I like writing books. No, there are too long. I am sure that one day I will do that. But yes you should keep reading Gustavo the person who is asking about liberation theology. Are you moving to Texas perhaps. How are you, Elizabeth. Have you had your coffee yet. Well, because I think I grew up in an extremely hot climate in Texas. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t drink any hot drinks actually when I get up in the morning for my shot of caffeine I have an icy cold Coca-Cola product. They should pay me at least $1,000 for saying that. All right, you guys can hear the orb. Does Jane support abolishing the snack please. Well Jane. She’s figured out how to drag chairs and into the kitchen get into the high cabin and she can also pick the cabinet locks. So we’re a little bit at a loss of what to do. Your article didn’t say much about st John of apparel Sarah statues being destroyed right. I mean. And that was intentional right. So if you look at what Gloria Purves says she is a devout Catholic. She is a black woman. And she was at the canonization of Saint junipero Serra. She was at the canonization in Washington d.c. during pope Francis first visit to the United States. She was there right. She is not saying tear down statues and burn churches. Quite the opposite. What she’s saying is every time we say police killings of black people extrajudicial executions of black people are not good or bad should stop. That there is systemic racism in the United States. We should not have to then before we deal with that issue deal with this question of statutes. She is saying, can we please prioritize such that we are dealing with the issue of human lives before we’re dealing with the issue of statute. She’s not saying it’s unimportant. Right just saying that these statues in many cases can be replaced can be rebuilt and she supports that right. It’s just that it’s frustrating to her as a black woman. And I fully understand this. And I think it’s fairly reasonable that every time she brings up these killings of black people by police instead of having that discussion or feeling solidarity from her co religionists on that front, she has to get into a discussion about statues right. Exactly we can walk and chew gum at the same time. And you know, I think in some situations in order to establish trust and good faith you have to have the one conversation before the other. How do you square your radical democratic politics and economics with the Episcopal sea. Well, I have my techniques I would not describe them as maybe radically democratic. You know I believe in democracy. The church has democratic functions inside of it. So the church is not like wholesale opposed to democracy. In fact, I think there are quite a few encyclicals that encourage it. So is there one piece of writing that you think would be beneficial for all humans to read. I mean, you know, the Iliad is good tells you many things worth considering. I don’t l everybody should read the hobbit. It’s a lot of fun doing that to my kids. Who’s my favorite mystic. I say dog cross really and Gregory Anissa are you in a new place. Yes, I am at my friends house because I’m in the process of moving. And so everything is sort of in a big tizzy right now. How do you square Black Lives Matter anti church rhetoric again right. You don’t have to pay it to eat. You’re not being asked to affirm everything said by every single person in a broad coalition or movement. Right look at this in 1963 archbishop Patrick Boyle of Washington gave the prayer invocation at the March on Washington. Standing next to Martin Luther King jr. Do you think that he believed and agreed with and affirmed every single thing every faction in that coalition believe. No, I mean, it was interfaith right. There were people of all faiths there were Jewish people there are Catholic people there were Protestant people there secular people no doubt. So obviously saying that the principles at hand here are worthwhile principles that our faith demands. We respect is not the same thing as affirming every single message that comes out of a coalition movement. Right this is very, very easy. What is more essential reading Greek mythology or the Bible. I know you know I mean, I like them both. OK Bible is hard to read. Very difficult to read. Yeah You know people need help. I needed help. I went to school for it. So you know important and good. And I think the parts that are necessary are quite obvious. But you can also kind of guilt turned around in there is it similar to how one can promote the ideas of socialism, communism while acknowledging yes. Elizabeth it’s a core principle of BLM. Oh my god. Guys stop paying attention to the organization. OK Just don’t worry about the Black Lives Matter global network. No one is asking you to affirm everything that’s in their agenda statement of principles or what they’re asking to affirm the principle that police should be killing black people right. That’s all you have to. That’s all you have to do here. Or I mean, you don’t have to I can’t make you I’m trying to write a persuasive article. But if what you’re saying is this organization that’s involved in a vast coalition or movement, which includes people who are in the organization, and like a huge majority of people who are not in the organization. If you’re saying that you can’t affirm the principles there of this huge coalition movement that is not strictly or I would even say mainly the organization Black Lives Matter global network. You’re saying you can’t affirm the principle that there shouldn’t be extrajudicial killings of black people, mainly because they’re black because there is an organization involved in this movement that is atheistic or anti church. I don’t know what to tell you don’t go to the March for Life. For sure, because there are secular people there every year they make a huge deal of it. Right So I don’t know what to tell you. St. Thomas Aquinas or st. Augustine st. Augustin. Answer the question. Banana pudding or peach cobbler peach cobbler within the ice cream opinion on baking with soda like baking soda is oftentimes very important. Favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor Cherry Garcia Liz what’s the best southern food. Fried chicken. Any tips on homemade pecan pie. Dude I don’t like to comply. I don’t know. It’s not great. It’s not great. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just that they comply I’ve had. I like the cons a lot. I love the cons. But you know, I like chopped up in oatmeal or something. But to come by. It’s not me. I it’s extra thing. And it’s sort of like really kind of gooey stuff going on under the Yeah. I don’t know. Yes Patrick O’Boyle did tell John Lewis to change the speech because he thought it was too militant. The fact that Patrick O’Boyle still showed up is evidence that you do not have to agree with everything in a coalition or movement right to agree with the core principles. In fact, you can state. I disagree with this. I disagree with that. But I agree with this. You’re entitled to do that. That’s fine. For instance, I will state. Now I disagree with anti church rhetoric and anti theistic and anti religious rhetoric that comes out of this anti-racist movement. But I affirm that catholics Christians should absolutely be opposed to police killings of black people. Favourite bill Murray movie. That’s a good question. Bill Murray is such an interesting actor. I really, really like lost in translation. I mean caddyshack is very, very hard to beat as well. Have you ever been to Ireland thoughts or opinions. I have never been to beautiful Ireland. I would love to go one day someone says, why just black people again, because that is the issue at hand right. It doesn’t mean that every other issue every other killing is extraneous. The question. I think that frustrates so many black catholics and I know Gloria Purvis is when you say, look should police stop killing black people. Should the extrajudicial killings of black people stop when some other conversation has to come before that like what about police killings of other people. What about nuclear disarmament. Isn’t it more important that we pull out of Iraq. I mean, yes, these are all conversations that are worth having. But can you just say yes to that one question first, I don’t understand why not. Can you explain the Texas expat mindset. I mean, you know, you always miss Texas. I love Texas right. MacIntyre good. Great MacIntyre it’s great. I love Alice. MacIntyre a key element to examine is is there injustice present. If so Christians must be on the side of justice. I agree. Thoughts on Corrie bush went congratulations been on board since the beginning whataburger order. Oh my god. I mean, I always get fries no matter what else I’m getting I like I like a lot of burger junior with everything I like. They like a moderate chicken mouth is really good. I like their barbecue chicken sandwich. The honey butter chicken biscuits you can get at breakfast are so good. I mean, I used to in the summer when I was a short window after I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Before I lost my driver’s license that I could drive and when my parents would leave for work in the morning. I around like 745 I would get in my car and put my cat in there with me. I had a siamese at the time. And we would drive to water burger. And I would get a honey butter chicken biscuit and share some of it with them. Because good times miss that someone also asked about I am from Texas. I’m from Arlington Texas. And someone asked me, what is my jack in the box order. Much easier. I like the chicken strips. The tacos curly fries with ranch and almost all of their like money boxes are really good. Do I live in Texas. Not currently unfortunately favorite legit Chinese restaurant in d.c. There was a really good place out in Falls Church called peking and gourmet. It’s like it’s quite fancy and the family that owns it is really fantastic. And it’s great. I love it. Why do Christians have a hard time separating church from state. Well, because you know, Christians feel it’s only one source of morality. And politics is just a branch of ethics right. That’s just Aristotle so you’re from edinburg Texas. Welcome how can the church push priest to support the Black Lives Matter movement, not necessarily organization and church pro-life issues. I think it’s just a matter of talking the people around you. Only 3% of American catholics are black. There are not many. And oftentimes American catholics are still sort of siloed and mainly black parishes. So I think it’s a matter of you know bringing people like Gloria in and just having conversation, talk to them as human beings. Do I have a seminary degree. No, I didn’t go to seminary because I cannot be clergy. I have a master’s of philosophy from Cambridge university and Christian theology. Do people at the New York Times ever say failing New York Times for locals. I know that my parents often say that to me for locals. Also the lying New York Times. So it is what it is. Let’s see Miss you on left, right, and center. Miss you too makes for a good breakfast burrito. Well, that’s another thing about water bird or whatever your breakfast iquitos is freaking amazing. They’re awesome. I love them. Like sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast ticky iquitos from whataburger. There is no limit to how many of those. I can eat. I could eat them until I physically injured myself is football or baseball more popular in Texas Well probably football in terms of watching it. But you know people like baseball and my husband played football and baseball bets on the next pope. I cannot I cannot begin to predict. Thoughts on the space trilogy by c.s. Lewis. Freaking awesome. Actually I was talking to someone else yesterday about the sparrow. All all of the catholics in space books are amazing. And there are many of them. Yeah, I love them all. What position did mat play in baseball Matt. What position did you play in baseball all except catcher. He says, do you think you can be Christian while thinking the Bible is not such an essential tax. Read evil Christians. Yeah Well, mean, you know, it. We are. We are not you know as people of the book right. I mean, we haven’t we have a living faith. That’s still in development right. There are still revelations happening. So the bible’s obvious extremely important foundational pillar of the faith. But there are also other things. And so it’s a matter of discernment and being together in our faith. It’s very hard to do Christianity alone. Mainly what you need are other Christians. I think you can probably the orb is the orb is in containment. Would you like to see the orb. Someone asked why have you prioritized Black Lives Matter over COVID. I have written several articles on cove. In fact, I have written at least two reported articles on catholics and copied. So I am paying attention to the plague. All right, I am going to try summoning the orb back. Do you want a green cleric here. She’s going to sleep. I’m sorry. That’s why she’s calling for me to rescue her because she’s being put down for a nap. So she’s you know my mother. Come get me out of my baby cage. Why is Christian dating so hard. I cannot even imagine. He is very angry. The orb is furious. Objects are about to start flying off the walls and the electricity is going to go out as she uses her giant mind to tell the kinetically manipulate our surroundings. Do I like Joni Mitchell. Yeah, I really do. I love folk music. I listen to it a. I love Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I love Neil young on his own you know helplessly hoping as maybe one of my favorite songs of all time. I love a case of you love Stevie Nicks a big fleetwood Mac fan. Very, very often very often listen to Joni Mitchell Joan Baez who’s just unrivaled in my opinion. Can we get Ross to march. We can try. You know Gordon Lightfoot love Gordon Lightfoot. Actually there’s a great cover of Gordon Lightfoot. I think that Sarah McLachlan did of if you can read my mind, which is like this extremely heartbreaking song he wrote about his divorce. The beautiful, beautiful stuff. I love Gordon Lightfoot. In the early morning rain with a buckle in my hand. Also Steve Wynwood blind faith right. Can’t find my way home. Awesome Good stuff too late to help out people. Course all right. So Texas is all about thoughts on southern Baptist dominance in Texas Well you know. I mean, I’ve written on Texas in evangelicals several times. And you know I think there’s nuance there. And so forth. Thoughts on cardinal Burke always well dressed thoughts on Morgellons. No we get to hear both sides know about that on live. Should I have a kid. Yeah, sure. You know, I’m quite attached to mine. I think you know, you know maybe enjoy enjoy it. I’ve enjoyed my right. Let’s see. Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas. Take that. That’s true. Alaska is bigger in terms of landmass but not in terms of spirit. The Texan soul is enormous. Yeah And you know Texans like that. While the biggest in the continental unites a contiguous United States a kid scares the shit out of me. Oh, it scared the shit out of me. Certainly not wrong about that. My favorite Western. That’s a good question. I like a lot of them. Well, there was this late great period in the 70s where, you have a bunch of fantastic westerns that also have like just amazing soundtracks. Like knockin on heaven’s door Butch Cassidy and Sundance kid. I mean, all of that John rough sort of dark 1970s westerns with these amazing folk soundtracks. Just kill it. For me personally, we have a Canadian trying to own Texas, which I will I will allow because you know Texas is big enough to sustain some minor distance from our friendly neighbors up north. I don’t mean Oklahoma. Oklahoma is absolutely never allowed to diss Texas who is my favorite rapper. Please don’t say M&M. Yeah, I know that she’s been canceled although I’m not sure why, but I’m a big Nicki Minhaj fan pills and potions. Great song. I mean, honestly, I’ve not heard many songs of hers. And I don’t really like John Lee is great. I mean, big Nicki Minhaj fan. This has been the hope this has been a useful chat sort of winding down a bit here. Headwinds book this life. Yeah I’m partially through it. Have you seen the pic of big tax on for her. Yes, it was funny. They had him in like a party. It was a bit of a law. Thoughts on the discourse around cultural appropriation. I’m not really the best person on it. I haven’t read deeply enough into it. Sorry I thought is a useful occasionally interesting is seen in 8 or is it something that’s learned tendency to sin. Did I grow up in a Texas suburb. Yes, I did. I grew up in a suburb of Dallas and also kind of a suburb of Fort Worth in between the d and the fw Arlington. Who do I need to bribe to get you back. I’m left, right, and center. I have no idea. I have no idea. No idea. Where did you cut your posting teeth before Twitter. Well, I don’t really remember life before Twitter. I don’t know. That’s a good question. Any pub dates puppy updates. Yeah, we’ve promised the children a puppy. So we’re trying to figure out how to do that. If CBS offered you Allen’s job would you take it, absolutely an instant. And I actually am nice right. I’m way too passive, to be mean to staff right now. There was someone who tweeted one time that like when a waitress says, do mind if I reach over you. They think to themselves ma’am you can shoot me with a gun right now. Oh been kind of very similar in dealing with the waitstaff or anyone who’s working with me. If you can’t be nice to people who are helping you do your job, then you know you need to not have a job. But he got his name the New York Times many crossword. When will you get your name in there. I don’t know. I guess when I earn it. Thoughts on corgis. I saw a corgi in a shopping cart yesterday at a Home Depot. Thought it was really cute. I have not read Kennedy’s head to be an anti-racist though I’ve read like a million reviews of it at this point. There was a good one that ran in the Atlantic and there was a good one in The New Yorker. I sometimes end up reading more book reviews than books and unfortunately, some of time you know some navy seals. No, I’m not sure that I do. But I would welcome getting to know a navy seal it sounds like an interesting job. Cormac McCarthy fan O my idol right. Enormous Cormac McCarthy fan. I would give anything to have 20% of the writing acumen of Cormac McCarthy’s. Every time I try to write something in in or manage to Cormac McCarthy I feel like you like ash and the Royal Tenenbaums, You know the frisky leading dusk just comes up really absurd. And he deeply reported pieces upcoming. Oh, Yeah, absolutely. What are you and Frank Czech going to do a podcast called living it up. That’s a good question. Favorite brunch drink. I don’t drink alcohol. So at brunch. I usually just have the cold. Frankly not very interesting. Doesn’t CarMax sort of lead you to the water and then turn around and walk you away. Yeah well he’s a very he’s a very interesting sort of poet of moral ambiguity. I think that’s what makes him. So great. Right anybody can be didactic and I. I guess my great goal as a writer is to not necessarily be so obviously didactic but to point to moral ambiguity because I think exposure to moral ambiguity develops your moral capacities right. Ultimately you have to develop an internal moral sensibility yourself and only exposure to ambiguity where you have to sort out morality in difficult situations is going to build that capacity that skill set. What’s your disassociated style and poppet troll comes on just like pass out while I’m still awake. I mean, I had dreams about puppetry like this. It’s just when Paul patrol comes on. I mean, I lose like 10% of my will to live. But you know. You know it’s better than some alternatives. So have you been in the k hole. What is the k hole. Is that like the k hive. No lose you are one of my favorite whites. Thank you. My friend but the troll for the troll. Yes someone is now posting that. No, I have not been on ketamine. Why am I being asked that. Is this a meme or am I doing something that suggests that I’m on ketamine. Is Texas barbecue supreme. Yeah, I mean, I think Texas barbecue is what I was raised with. So of course, I’m going to be pretty pretty dedicated to it. How are things going with the people’s policy project. I think it’s good. Am I a junkie. Biden is curious. No, I don’t think so. OK So you’ve got some kind of ketamine thing going here. No, I’m off on the ketamine means cycle IV. I’m too old. What do you imagine the heavenly kingdom is like. Yeah, that’s a good question. I think Gregory Agnes says God is so infinite right. That your understanding of him and love for him is permanently evolving and always changing. So I imagine heaven as this circumstance of infinite discovery. So think of every time you ever learn something new and felt the pleasure of understanding and the curiosity of searching and the satisfaction of discovering. I think heaven is that over and over and over again about the nature of God. And then also, it’s a situation where you’re permanently loving and growing and love all the time. And you know anyone who’s ever been in love knows that’s emotional and thrilling and also deeply peaceful. My favorite Japanese kit Kat. Yeah, so they’re like ones you’re supposed to put in the oven that are like cheek ache. I think, or something or like a custom I mean, obviously, I can’t read the KNG on there. My friend sent them to me when she was living in Japan for a while. But was really good. What is my favorite film that deals with faith. Silence Scorsese Daisy right now. Quite like that one. It’s very explicit. Can you cancel my meeting. So I can keep hearing you talk. Yeah post your boss’s number right now. This is the New York Times and I need you to release your employees from meetings. This is important. We’re talking about my water burger order. We’ve talked about liberation is charcuterie Bourgeois. Probably although Matt likes meats on a plate. Some meetings are canceled. What is your opinion on Florida. I think it’s fine. I mean, you know, it draws heat away from Texas in terms of the press. So you have to appreciate that. Let’s see is it true. You can dunk a basketball. No no those reports vastly exaggerated. Did you have, especially memorable pregnancies. I had very easy pregnancies very, very blessed by that easy pregnancies easy deliveries. Would you accept a Joe Rogan invite. Yeah, absolutely. Talk to whoever wants to talk to me, honestly. All right. So my position has always been and always will be that anyone who honestly wants to have a conversation really interested in talking it’s not just like a bad faith dunk fast or something. I will talk to them. It doesn’t matter who they are right or where they’re coming from always willing to talk. All right. How tall am I I am four foot 11. Someone says hello hello what did you think of the Bill Maher movie religious. I remember at one point religious bill Ma goes to like a Christian theme park. And he gets owned by a theme park Jesus because he’s like the Trinity doesn’t make any sense. And then this guy whose job is to dress up like Jesus and walk around a theme park is like, well, you know think of it like water you have water, but it can also be a gas. And then you have ice and it’s a solid sea of solid liquid gas. So the Trinity is similar to that though Mars has nothing to say to it. He’s like. And then the next day he’s like in a car and he’s like, you know it looked like I was owned but actually, I was not. Which I found really entertaining. You know eternity is hard to explain. But the guy did an OK job and the point is whether or not it was like a theologically astute description of the Trinity kid owned by a few for Jesus. It’s really enjoyable. Favorite recently published novels. Yeah, I’ve been trying to read my year of rest and relaxation. I just haven’t had a whole lot of time. But you know one of these days. I hope to get through it. I try to keep abreast of the new books the kids are all talking about, and so on. All right or winding down here. Did I ever get into Game of Thrones. I also, it should be said that I was like kind of like in a transitional phase in my life when Game of Thrones was happening, I was like in college and my family got really undo it. So I was home for I think Christmas. It could have been the summer. But I know we got Olive Garden to go for some reason. So like I’m standing in the kitchen from which there is a view of my family’s TV. My family’s all the living room watching TV and I’m like standing there eating my you know tour of Italy or whatever. And there’s like a little girl being burned to death. And I was like, what the hell is this. And my parents are like, no trust. Trust me, you trust me. It’s you know the plot. It’s important to the plot. But since that was pretty much my first experience of the show. I tagged out. But I know I know the general plot because it was it was around in the other three minutes 3 minutes of questions and really important stuff for the last three minutes. I can’t tell if Matt’s a baseball fan or cynic is he either. Yeah Matt’s a fan of all sport. But he’s not a fan in the usual sense where he follows teams he just enjoys what he calls good game play. So he likes weird, interesting trick players who used to like Boise State a lot. You know he just likes bizarre things happening in sports, that kind of play with the limitations of the rules. Would you try ketamine with me. Is that not like a veterinary drug. No you guys need to stop stop taking ketamine and stop trying to imitate ketamine. Thoughts on Schwarber. Very good. Favorite sport. I don’t know. You know. You know I find football is nice. It reminds me of fall. Raising hay while Boise State a favorite spiritual works on dark knight of soul confessions. Those are you know the showings. Julian Norwood to Norwich very, very important, if not the US. Where would you live and why Canada. Because it’s nice and everyone is nice there. Do you think Garfield is bad in silence. If so do you think that’s the point. A county and Dracula. OK So Bram stoker’s Dracula is one of the greatest movies of all time. I freaking love that movie because it’s like just pure 100% kitsch like top to bottom. Total kitsch. It is self-aware. It’s got always was its guy Anthony Hopkins doing it kind of a strange cookie monster that voice. It’s got Keanu Reeves Winona Ryder I mean, it is bananas and I love that movie. I have it on all the time when company is over because no matter where there’s a breaking conversation there’s something insane happening in that film. And Garfield I mean, I thought the problem with him in silence was that he basically is just weeping from like frame one through the very end and may you know I suppose that’s not too terribly difficult that it is you know or too terribly different than the character of Rodriguez in the novel although I think that Rodriguez in the novel takes a lot longer to kind of collapse and it’s really that sort of scene in the river where you start to see things go awry. But Yeah, I think it’s a good film for lunch. I’m going to have I think breakfast for lunch. All right. I think I’ve got to take off. Get back to work and follow up with you guys later. I hope you have a good day. Thank you for tuning in, and Yeah. OK So one more question would you recommend any other of work. Yes read the C and poison but she’s lucky Linda. All right love you guys have a good day. Bye bye.

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Ms. Purvis maintains hope for the future. She wants to see a sincere reckoning with anti-Black racism within the church. “We need to name it,” she said, “and say: Yes, we have sinned; yes, religious orders owned slaves; we did not speak out in the abolition movement; we pushed some people even in the celebration of Mass to the side or to the back, so they could only receive our Lord when others were done.” That much and more is necessary.

This month, Americans will march on Washington in commemoration of the original march on the capital for civil rights and in hopes of reviving and redoubling efforts to achieve racial equality.

A diverse group of Catholics including clergy and laypeople — myself among them — have prepared a letter exhorting our bishops to join us at this march, to fulfill the hope laid out for Christians in the first epistle of John: “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

Elizabeth Bruenig (@ebruenig) is an Opinion writer.

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A correction was made on 
Aug. 10, 2020

An earlier version of this article misstated Junipero Serra's role in the Catholic Church. He was a friar, not a monk.

How we handle corrections

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section SR, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘Racism Makes a Liar of God’. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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