After the May 25 police custody death on a street in Minneapolis of George Floyd, an African-American, people in Minnesota and around the world were shocked by the civil unrest, rioting and looting that followed. As a Catholic and a Minneapolis resident, Ryan Hamilton said he saw it as an opportunity, “despite all the chaos and angst and pain.”
Hamilton, a Black lawyer and government relations associate at the Minnesota Catholic Conference, talked with Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show that airs at 9 p.m. April 9 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Ryan Hamilton
“What we saw last summer was a lot of fear, and people crying out for leadership, people crying out for ministry …,” he said. Hamilton said he believes that Catholics have been given the solutions to the ills people saw last summer and that Catholics need to share them.
“We can’t be the light under the lampshade,” Hamilton said. A bystander’s video of Floyd’s death showed a man die in an agonizing fashion, Hamilton said. But he saw a human being crying out for mercy, someone suffering from addiction who needed compassion and assistance. “For me, it’s an opportunity to minister to the least among us,” he said.
“As Catholics, it’s a definite opportunity for us to step into the void as ministers,” Hamilton said. And as people celebrate Easter, he said, that is the example Christ gave.
So, what happens if the verdict leads to unrest and chaos? Catholics are not called to cower in fear, Hamilton said, but to actively bring the light of Christ into these areas, even in the midst of civil unrest.
He advised delving into what we’re reading and hearing through our faith and opening up to the Holy Spirit. “That will give us our individual guidance and instruction on how we approach the coming days as ministers,” he said.
When the verdict is announced, people should know the Catholic in the room by the courage, humility and charity that is displayed, because there is nothing to fear, he said. “We don’t have to get caught up in worldly demagoguery or worldly status, or identifying as Black or white, rural, urban — all of these different wedge points that the media is going to try to use for profit.”
Catholics can be rocks in the storm, Hamilton said, if only for a hug or an attentive ear — without an agenda.
During the interview, Conley asked Hamilton to discuss how an action might be morally reprehensible but not criminally punishable. To hear Hamilton’s response, tune in to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic,” which also airs at 1 p.m. April 10 and 2 p.m. April 11 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who gives his take on the Easter season, including drive-by blessings, and Nick Chalmers from Chesterton Academy, who discusses the role of chant in the musical experience of Catholic youth.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired:
soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic
Practicing Catholic on Spotify
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