17: Chicago The Challenge of a Big Metropolis

Abstract

Cardinal Bernardin discusses the social inadequacies that exist in a big metropolis like Chicago, highlighting collaboration and negotiation as real solution to these problems. People living in Chicago, or any metropolitan area, want to eliminate crime, violence, immigration, hunger. Fighting racism, the Cardinal says, is the first step to improve life conditions in a city.Nowadays, Hispanic people represent a large part of the American population. Racial and ethnic obstacles, however, often prevent them from obtaining a standard of living comparable to that of other Americans. The Church's mission is to work towards the dignity and the equality of all people and respond to the particular needs of Black and Hispanic communities. First and foremost, the Church must help eliminate the racial obstacles that marginalize these ethnic groups in society. Cardinal Bernardin dreams of the creation of a “Chicagoland” where people work together to renovate the structures of modern urban life, thereby destroying the roots of poverty, crime and racism.Society needs a new generation of young leaders who have the capacity to think of a better future with the help of the Church. Young people have the right to seek help in every step of their life, from childhood to adulthood. They need safe schools, secure home lives, and safe places like the Church where they can meet other young people. To implement all of this, the Church requires good organization and a pastoral plan, along with a Catholic response to the need for Hispanic integration that respects both the culture and the language of this ethnic group.