One of the most important obligations of Lancaster Catholic High School and all Christians is to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us all this unequivocal instruction: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (Jn 13: 34-35). The murder of George Floyd and the evil of racism are heinous crimes against this commandment and the community of Lancaster Catholic High School stands together in condemning these crimes in the strongest possible terms and confronting the evil of racism that continues to darken too many hearts.
As stated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The killing of George Floyd was senseless and brutal, a sin that cries out to heaven for justice.” We join those across our nation in voicing our outrage at this murder, and the instances of injustice, brutality, and racism people of color continue to suffer.
We stand in solidarity with the Floyd family and pray for consolation and healing. We support efforts to confront injustice wherever and whenever it occurs as the obligation of every Christian. We affirm the right of all people to protest and demonstrate their justifiable anger using peaceful, non-violent means.
We abhor the immorality of the violence of lawlessness and riots that add more victims, so often from the ranks of the marginalized.
We acknowledge and appreciate the honorable—often heroic—service of the vast majority of Peace Officers and members of the law enforcement community.
We continue our calls for change, most importantly and powerfully a change of heart for all who violate the essential dignity of any human being because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity—or any other reason.
We will redouble our commitment to educating the minds and hearts of our community to live in fidelity to Jesus’s command, and to working within and outside our school to root out and confront the evils of racism and injustice.
Tim Hamer, President & Terry Klugh, Principal