A new report issued by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found that hate crimes continued to rise in most major American cities last year. Data from 20 different police departments showed that at least six metropolitan areas recorded levels not seen since the 1990s. Of the 20 cities surveyed, six posted multidecade highs in hate crimes.
A hate crime is defined by the FBI as a criminal offense “motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”
During this time of Lent and the approaching commemorations of our Lord’s Passion and Death, Catholics, especially preachers, should be careful not to portray the Jewish people in a negative way, being careful never to interpret Scriptures surrounding the Death of Jesus as being the fault of the Jewish people, past or present. In fact, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Guidelines for Catholic-Jewish Relations reminds us: “The presentation of the Crucifixion story should be made in such a way as not to implicate all Jews of Jesus’ time or of today in a collective guilt for the crime. This is important for catechesis and homilies, especially during Lent and Holy Week, as well as for any dramatizations of the events, such as Passion Plays.”
A pair of surveys from the American Jewish Committee released in February found more than 80% of Jewish adults in the United States say antisemitism has increased in the last five years. Remarks at a recent U.S.-hosted, high-level United Nations side event on Globalizing Efforts to Combat Antisemitism were made by several high-ranking figures, including the second gentleman, Douglas Emhoff, and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Mr. Emhoff said, “The same hatred that fuels antisemitism is often the same hatred directed at other ethnic or religious groups, immigrants, LGBTQ+ community and others. There is a chilling interconnection between these forms of hate.”
Hate crimes against the Muslim community have also increased in the United States and around the world. At a recent gathering at the Muhammad Ali Islamic Center in New York City, Imam Oumar Diably shared the following story. “I was waiting for my train on the subway, [and] someone came up to me because I was wearing my Islamic garment. He yelled, ‘Go back to your country.’ I said, ‘This is my country!’”
A 2022 survey of 200 Muslims conducted by the nonprofit organization Muslim Community Network found that 76% had witnessed a hate crime. Meanwhile, 49% said they had been a victim, and nearly 44% of those ages 10-18 said they experienced a hate crime. Similarly, the Council on American-Islamic Relations also reported a 9% increase in the number of civil rights complaints it received from Muslims in the United States. “CAIR received a total of 6,720 complaints nationwide involving a range of issues including immigration and travel, discrimination, law enforcement and government overreach, hate and bias incidents, incarcerated rights, school incidents and anti-free speech,” the 2022 report stated.
The USCCB Office of Religious Liberty has tracked more than 248 incidents of vandalism of Catholic sites in the United States since May 2020, including arson, graffiti and defaced statues. Here in our own Diocese, we have witness an increase of such vandalism in a few of our parishes.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, has said, “Catholics are the most represented religious faith in the U.S.” He explained that combined with the spread of religious conspiracy theories, a rise in religious skepticism and closures due to COVID-19, the Catholic Church might be the closest place for a would-be vandal to strike.
Pope Francis, at a recent ecumenical gathering, said, “God suffers when we, who call ourselves his faithful ones, put our own ways of seeing things before his, when we follow the judgments of the world rather than those of heaven, when we are content with exterior rituals yet remain indifferent to those for whom he cares the most.” Given the clear teachings of the Church, “We have no excuses, still, there are those who appear to feel encouraged or at least permitted by their faith to support varieties of narrow and violent nationalism, xenophobia and contempt, and even the mistreatment of those who are different.” In fidelity to God, he added, “We must be opposed to war, to violence and to injustice whenever they begin to appear.”
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
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