Archbishop Speaks Out Against Racism

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco condemned violence against Asian people in the United States, drawing comparisons between the COVID-19 vaccine and standing against racism.

“Inoculation against racism can be summed up in one word: virtue,” Archbishop Cordileone said April 10 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.

The archbishop’s remarks were made at a prayer service “for an end to violence and racism particularly against Asians, for healing for our nation, and for the flourishing of peace and justice in our land.” 

The event was held amid recent reports of rising violence against the Asian community in the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 36% of people in San Francisco County are of Asian descent. Archbishop Cordileone noted that immigration from China has been a constant in the city from its beginning, and immigration from other Asian countries is also common in the area. He called it “very disturbing” that “racial violence would rear its ugly head here.”

The archbishop cited Pope Francis, who described racism as “a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.”

Archbishop Cordileone said “the virus of racism” is a lot like COVID-19. “It never goes away, but there are ways to inoculate oneself against it, even if one has to be always vigilant to protect oneself from being infected,” he said.

He noted that a vaccine will not kill the virus, but instead prevents a person from being harmed if exposed to it.

“But what is our inoculation against racism?” the archbishop questioned. 

He highlighted the early Christian communities depicted in the Acts of the Apostles as a “good start in answering that question.”

“We see here,” said the archbishop, “the qualities that make such a peaceful and harmonious common life possible: each one looked out first and foremost for the good of the other, not what they were going to get out of it.”

He challenged the congregation to live out the Christian “mission of mercy.” He concluded by listing virtues he thought best acted as the “inoculation against racism” – specifically, “generosity, selflessness, trust and trustworthiness, humility, courage, conviction, forgiveness and, of course, mercy itself.”

The archbishop encouraged San Franciscans to lead by example and “make our Golden Gate an authentic symbol of a city that will let no stranger wait outside its door.”