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Fifty years ago, Father Joseph Norvel, a Jesuit, thought it was time for black priests to come together.
L & # The year 1968 was a tumultuous one in American history, the country struggled to implement the civil rights of blacks, the demonstrations of the Vietnam war became frequent and some were violent, and the youths rejected the authority. of the generation of their parents
Black priests wanted to support each other, and they wanted to discuss how to respond to the times and win the support of the church to better evangelize black communities.
More importantly, they wanted to deal with the racism that they lived within the church. The priests wanted to feel accepted for what they were: an African-American clergy who could share a rich cultural heritage but felt repressed by a white-dominated ecclesiastical leadership
Father Norvel and dozens of Black priests met in Detroit in April. first meeting of the national caucus of the black Catholic clergy. The meeting took place shortly after the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Questions abounded in the minds of priests.
"I felt that at that time we had to draw the church's attention to the racism experienced in our seminaries and in our church," says Father Norvel, today. who is 82 years old.
Priests returned to their parishes decided to "get something done about racism by the church," he said
. Sister Mercy Martin of Porres Gray was the only religious woman to attend. She has since left religious life. The history of the organization reports that she was so inspired by the rally that she organized a similar meeting of Black sisters in August of the same year in Pittsburgh. Approximately 150 women participated, marking the foundation of the National Black Sisters Conference.
The sisters, too, wanted to support each other and fight against racism in the institutional church and in their own congregations, recalled Sister Josita Colbert, 80, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame of Namur in Baltimore who attended the meeting. Today, she is the vocation director of the congregation.
Sister Colbert says she's an inspired part of the first meeting and continues to attend the annual gathering, which includes the caucus of priests, the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association and the National Blacks Association. Catholic Deacons.
"It was amazing and bursting at first," she told the Catholic News Service. "We had speakers who challenged us about what was going on in the world (at the time) and here in the United States as blacks and what we black religious women were going to do at this time. subject."
and the sisters' organizations had a vibrant history and will celebrate their founding in 1968 July 28-August. 2 in New Orleans. Seminarians and deacons will also be present.
Father Kenneth Taylor, who is pastor of two parishes in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and president of the National Caucus of the Catholic Black Clergy, told the NSC that this year will be a holiday for all.
The joint meeting will also reflect on the role of African Americans within the church, "especially at a time when we seem to have lost the interest of church leaders in because of strong Hispanic immigration in "Organizations do not want to create a gap with Hispanic Catholics, but want to make sure that diocesan bishops do not reduce the scope of African-American relations while developing Hispanic ministries", he said.
"This gives us the opportunity to unite and encourage each other," said Fr. Taylor. "It also gives us a chance to meet to discuss the needs of the community. black and what we can do to help black Catholics become more involved in the church. "
A deep concern for racism Some clergy and nuns spoke openly indeed about the racism they saw in the 1960s. Their shrill positions in those early years often alienated diocesan or congregational leadership.
Although strident could be remembered a little today, their views have not gone away. Black priests and nuns continue to say that they want the church to face racism so that all the faithful can achieve true equality.
Father David Benz, 75, ordained priest in 1975 in the Archdiocese of New York and now He is retired, he says sometimes, he feels African-Americans in the church almost appear "invisible."
"I belong to the same church, I know what the social teachings of the church are and we, as a church, see this and ignore it," he said. to the NSC
Father Taylor congratulated the Conference of American Catholic Bishops on the creation of its Special Committee against Racism, a pastoral letter on racism through American society and the church. document is planned for the general assembly of bishops in November
Yet black nuns and priests have expressed concern that African-American evangelism is again neglected in the church. expressed concern that diocesan reorganizations and school and parochial closures have disproportionately affected African-American communities.
"This gives the impression that the Catholic Church is retreating. "It's the rise of white supremacy, racist comments in the media and politics, and emerging policies that hurt minority communities," said Father Taylor. Priests and nuns declared that they believed that the church needed to be more vocal in providing the moral guidance needed to change the hearts of people.
Sister Roberta Fulton, a member of the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur and President of the National Black Sisters. Conference, congregations credited with religious women to address racism in their structures. She and others called for stronger efforts to promote religious vocations among African Americans as key to addressing their concerns.
"People do not enter religious life as they did before, so we are looking for other ways for your call," said Sister Fulton. One option is to encourage young people to become associates of a congregation. "These associates, some have become sisters, they are learning about the sisters and what we do, where we serve."
Precious Blood Parish Priest Clarence Williams, Parish Priest of St. Joan of Arc in Chagrin Parish Falls, Ohio, in the diocese of Cleveland, was among the organizers of the organization of black seminarians shortly after the formation of the caucus of priests, and said that the first annual joint meetings of the associations encouraged participants to reiterate their ministry.
"Meeting the nuns and priests annually and truly reflecting our reality in our communities, in our diocese, on mission, we found our wisdom in this community to stay (in the ministry)," said the father Williams. "Those who do not have the support did not do it … it became discouraging."
"The Black Sisters Conference was wonderful because it gave us all gathered, "recalls Sr. Juanita Shealey, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph in Cleveland," We sang, we danced, we prayed, we talked about the joy of seeing other black sisters. "[19659005MembersofbothorganizationsalsolamentedthegeneraldeclineinvocationstothepriesthoodandreligiouslifeparticularlyamongAfricanAmericanswithfewervocationsitalsomeansfeweropportunitiesforAfrican-AmericansAssumeleadershippositionsinthechurch
"Over the years we have made recommendations to appoint priests (bishops). … But it seems that the church is much more concerned with the Hispanic community than with the black community, "said Father Benz.
Have more African-Americans in the leadership, especially as bishops, would assist in evangelism Benz added
The New Orleans Rally will give participants an opportunity to reflect on such issues.Participants will also honor the leaders past and present, those that Father Taylor called "exemplars."
He said instead that to honor a person with a prize, 50 copies were identified and will be identified at the rally.
will serve to show not only where the organizations have been, but, said Father Taylor, but hopefully will inspire members to perpetuate their legacy to achieve full acceptance in the church and society. [19659036] Black Catholics, Black c Communities, National Association of Black Catholic Deacons, National Caucus of Black Catholic Clerics, National Association of Black Catholic Seminarians, National Conference of Black Sisters
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