Ivers: Church is racist, sexist
By ALLISON MAIMONA
News Writer
Notre Dame is a potentially volatile environment according to comments made Tuesday by Father Michael Ivers, a pastor of St. Agatha Church in Chicago.
"The Catholic Church is a racist institution. The Catholic Church is a sexist institution and people can't be afraid to tell the truth," said Ivers.
Speaking on the "Call to be Church After Church in the African-American Community," Ivers addressed the issue of diversity in the Catholic church.
"[The] problem [is] not with Catholic social teaching, but Catholic social practice," Ivers said. He noted that at the conference itself, there had been no African-American presenters. The definition of a Catholic is universal, and the underrepresentation of minorities therefore makes the Church less Catholic, said Ivers.
Ivers challenged the audience to remedy this problem by referring to a passage in the book of Luke, "Put out and lower into deep water and lower your necks with a catch." He explained that "Jesus didn't just sit there; he went out. The only way to minister with people, not to them, or for them, is to truly know them." The only way to do this is for people to go out with curiosity, imagination, and the intention of discovering human beings.
"We have to act like Peter; be honest," said Ivers.
Ivers articulated two issues he is specifically frustrated about: celibacy and women's ordination. Because there is no discussion about these controversial subjects, they have remained a major cause of controversy. Simply ignoring these issues will not make them go away, Ivers said.
Ivers encouraged each member of the audience to climb out of his or her comfort zone, and dive into deep water to address these issues. Having hosted many students on Urban Plunges, Summer Service Projects, and African-American Leadership Interns, Ivers said that while students at Notre Dame must learn how to swim (the freshmen swimming test), they are not required to complete a service project.
"[Don't be] content with normalcy, because Jesus tells us normalcy could be mediocrity," Ivers said in closing his presentation.
In the response session that followed, one student said, "We can empower ourselves to not feel so isolated, detached [and] unconnected." Also responding positively to Ivers speech, another student was "energized to know that good work is going on."
Ivers speech was part of the three-day conference Notre Dame hosted, "Reconciliation and Renewal in the Cities: Faith-Based Initiatives." The conference was part of the Department of Theology's Millenium Series, "Building the Civilization of Love: Imagining the Third Millenium."
The conference was sponsored by the theology department and co-sponsored by the College of Business Administration, the Center for Social Concerns and the Center for Pastoral Liturgy.
All News Stories for Wednesday, February 16, 2000
