Dominican Father Gerald Stookey saw firsthand the unrest following the death of George Floyd. He is pastor at Holy Rosary in Minneapolis, which joins St. Albert the Great as the closest parishes to the epicenter of four days of riots on Lake Street that began after Floyd’s May 25 police-related death. He was among pastors surveying smashed windows, burned down businesses and looted stores.

He also has a degree in sociology and has spent most of his ministry working on issues related to justice and peace.

“I don’t have the answers,” he said, when asked about events related to Floyd’s death, “but I look at social systems, social structure and put it into the larger picture. And then if you look at our theology … we have to start with ‘every person is a child of God, is made in the image of God.’ If you don’t get that, you will never get to second base.”

Jesus was so clear in his life and in his behavior about the need for mercy and compassion, Father Stookey said, such as the incident found in the Gospel of John when Jesus forgives and saves the life of a woman who was about to be stoned to death for committing adultery.

Father Stookey, 71, also referred to words of wisdom often attributed to St. Augustine – that hope has two beautiful daughters named Anger and Courage: Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.

“I find that helpful because I don’t think we want to brush anger under the rug,” he said. “Why wouldn’t someone be angry about injustice? Jesus could be angry. But on the other hand, in my opinion, Jesus would not be for violence, including violent riots.”

Father Stookey said one of his heroes, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., also would not urge violence, nor would Cesar Chavez, the founding president of the United Farm Workers.

Part of the anger that’s been on display, he said, is that people feel they have attempted nonviolently to make change and it hasn’t happened. Father Stookey recalled a quote from King: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

He also referenced “hooligans” in Europe who sometimes break windows and bash cars over football losses. “Not that I’m condoning it, but … if we can understand that just because you lost a football game, the World Cup, you can have mob psychology take over, then we ought to be able to understand … looting, breaking windows, over a life.”

“I’m not justifying it, but I think we can put it in perspective and say, ‘don’t be surprised,’” he said.

Earlier in his priesthood, Father Stookey worked for eight years as archdiocesan director of the Office of Justice and Peace in Denver. While he knows the value and necessity of practicing charity, he said, “if you want peace, work for justice.”

And if people want to do charity, they should also work for justice, so they have a chance to remedy issues upstream, he said.

To illustrate, Father Stookey tells the tale of a monk walking along a river who sees a baby drowning. The monk jumps in the river and saves the baby. Then there’s another baby and another, and the monk saves the babies, but it continues to happen.

An emergency committee, social services, pediatric services and an adoption agency set up offices along the river to save babies from drowning. But then someone steps in and suggests good things are being done, but he’s going upstream to see who’s throwing the babies into the river, Father Stookey said.

“To me, that represents a bit of the difference between justice work and charity,” he said. “And I love that we do charity, and they’re always linked.”

But people need to think about systems in ways that help people, including the poor, Father Stookey said.

That starts with getting involved at the local level, at the local parish, in the neighborhood, he said. Get to know neighbors, start to build trust, he said.

“It can’t just be words from a couple of parishes,” he said. “We’ve got to be in solidarity.

“Let’s see if we can find a structure, even with our parishes and Church, to help respond to what’s needed – structural change,” he said. “It will take a lot of work, probably ecumenical.”

Father Stookey said he was impressed to see Archbishop Bernard Hebda and other members of the clergy march together June 2 in Minneapolis because it was “so ecumenical,” with Christian, Muslim and Jewish participants.

“You know, we’re all in this together,” he said.