Lori identifies ‘structural sin’ in Baltimore

Archbishop William Lori called for healing, peace and justice in the city of Baltimore on Sunday in a homily at St Peter Claver Church, an African-American parish located near to where the arrest and subsequent killing of a young black man, Freddie Gray, took place, writes Michael Sean Winters.

The death of Gray on 12 April led to widespread rioting.

“Even as we pray for Freddie Gray ... we know that his arrest and the manner of his death have struck a very deep chord, throughout Baltimore and the US and beyond,” Lori told the congregation. “The arresting officers have been indicted and we do not know what the outcomes of their cases will be. What we do know is that Freddie Gray’s death has brought to the surface long-standing issues of what we call in Catholic moral theology ‘structural sin’ [in which it becomes] almost impossible for human beings to flourish.”

Community leaders hoped that the indictment of the arresting officers on charges of involuntary manslaughter, and related charges, would quell the protests.