Bishop's Easter Message
"I have always been fascinated by the detail that it was “still dark.” I believe this speaks to the presence of hope when things do not seem promising. Over the past year, we have experienced darkness in so many ways: over half a million persons in the United States who have lost their lives to COVID-19; millions who have lost jobs; millions of acres destroyed in wildfires; children who have lost opportunities to learn, grow, and socialize; countless persons – young and old – who have seen a decline in mental health; growing division in our country and racial violence; a devastated economy; and the list goes on...
"The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the central mystery of the Christian faith – that Jesus overcomes the darkness and gloom of death and brings light and hope in the resurrection, with life everlasting! As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life” (no. 654)..." (Complete text: Arising from the Darkness)
Bishop's Statement in Support of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Join me in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May. The Asian community has been on my mind and in my prayers recently, given the disturbing rise of anti-Asian animus, prejudice, aggression and violence. It is disgraceful to see this in our American society in our modern times. We have come so far in our country since the eras of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Japanese Internment Camps of generations past. And yet, we manage to take steps backward into prejudice, discrimination, and even violence. This is sad and disgraceful. Anti-Asian hatred not only hurts Asian Americans; it tarnishes the dignity of all Americans.
As Christians enter Holy Week, we recall how the crowd turned against Jesus, calling for his violent execution. Jesus stands with our Asian community. The Church stands with our Asian communities. We are brothers and sisters to one another, members of a common human family, with dignity and worth. Asians and Pacific Islanders bring tremendous gifts that enrich American culture and society, and our Church. Let us embrace them, celebrate them, and love them as brothers and sisters!
Most Reverend Oscar Cantú
Bishop of San José