Pastoral Letter on the Killing of George Floyd

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus. Since the tragic death of George Floyd last week, we’ve prayed and offered Mass for the repose of George’s soul, for the comfort of his family and the healing of our community. At our daily and Lord’s Day Masses, we’ve confronted the grave injustice committed against George, and reflected on the evil of racism and the scourge of violence and hatred of neighbor — the polar opposite of the self-sacrificial love for neighbor that our Lord Jesus Christ demands of us as Christians. 

Even as we returned to limited public Mass this week, it became more clear that while many have heard us address George’s death, as well as the unrest since, it was important that we share a message with the parish as a whole on these events that have had such great significance in and impact on our community and nation.

First and foremost, George Floyd should still be with us today. We echo Archbishop Hebda’s words demanding “a full investigation that results in rightful accountability and veritable justice.” The sadness and outrage in the immediate aftermath of his killing in the African-American and other local minority communities, and indeed throughout the Twin Cities and beyond, is well-justified. Further violence and destruction — particularly by groups and individuals seemingly taking advantage of a volatile situation — is reprehensible, and obscures the injustice done to Mr. Floyd as well as a path forward.

Fr. Nick, Deacon Don, and I each participated in a silent clergy march this past week, and I invite each of us to think about how we can participate in the healing of our human community, locally and beyond. In particular, we are in communication with our local outreaches about how we can help, and have compiled a number of opportunities here on our website at https://nativity-mn.org/outreach.

I also invite each of us to reflect on the role we all play in furthering injustice, “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,” and seek greater conversion. It has been said that “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being,” and only by reconciling our own sinful nature and seeking healing and forgiveness before God himself are we able to seek reconciliation in our communities.

I have great faith and hope in our loving God and Father and in the love of Jesus Christ to heal George Floyd’s family, friends, and our greater community. We can have great confidence in Our Lord whose own unjust death became the salvation and reconciliation of the whole world. 

Finally, we pray to the Holy Spirit, our Great Comforter and Advocate, that he may bring forth the Kingdom of God of peace and justice in our hearts and in our world.

In His Peace,

Father Patrick Hipwell
Pastor of Nativity of Our Lord

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Pictured is Father Paul Jarvis, kneeling and praying at the site of George Floyd's death. Photo by Dave Hrbacek of The Catholic Spirit, courtesy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.