Document Type
Perspectives
Abstract
The colloquy with Christ on the cross during the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises frames a consideration of the possibilities of, and obstacles to, white metanoia and solidarity across the color line in the face of egregious racial injustice. The author highlights the role of the imagination and desire in the birthing of empathy and in the merging of Christ crucified with the suffering of peoples of color in US society, even while insisting that the beauty and richness of “Black Lives” cannot be reduced to suffering. Drawing from Thomas Merton and Pope Francis, the author underscores the importance of drawing near in encounter and the sowing of personal relationships. To become “social poets” is to risk discomfort and vulnerability with others in the public and political square so as to become “sowers of change” toward justice and mutual flourishing. The article concludes with Ignatian-inspired guidelines for initiating such processes both within and beyond our Jesuit university campuses.
Recommended Citation
Pramuk, Christopher.
"At the Foot of the Black Cross in America."
Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal Vol. 12:
No.
1
(2023)
.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53309/2164-7666.1410
Available at:
https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol12/iss1/3
