St. Peter pronounces one of the the most chilling indictments addressing the crowds after the events of Jesus’ passion and death: “I know that you acted out of ignorance.” This is chilling because it says we can do the most horrible of things, even killing the Son of God, acting in ignorance. I remember meeting a woman from Itta Bena, Mississippi, who informed me she hated Catholics — not that there were any Catholics in Itta Bena. We hit it off famously. As she gradually got to know more and more Catholic she decided that she still hated Catholics — except for the Catholics she actually knew. St. Peter’s indictment challenges us to look at our assumptions and prejudices and found our judgments on the truth so we don’t act in ignorance.
