“ALLIES”

November 18, 2024 -

This past weekend was the Seattle-based Black Catholic Advisory Council’s Summit on Racism, with Cardinal Winton Gregory giving the keynote address, and prominent other members of the national Black Catholic community giving talks as well. I’ve never met a cardinal before - especially in this case the African American cardinal of the Washington DC area! This was an event I wish that a thousand people could have attended, and even more at the Mass on Saturday night, where the cardinal presided. I didn’t get to shake the cardinal’s hand…I had to “settle” for Archbishop Etienne’s hand, who was attendance as well. Two of my deacon friends, Joseph Conner (an old friend from Immaculate Conception, where I had my start in ministry in Seattle, and Carl Chilo, head of the Racial Justice office at the Chancery) were the deacons at the Mass.

It was a total contrast with the also nationally known Cardinal Dolon of New York, who made the news this morning on the Black Catholic Messinger, a daily news column about black Catholics, published by Nate Tinner-Williams (nate@blackcatholicmessenger.org). There’s no cost to subscribe.

Cardinal Dolan has hobnobbed with "President-elect Trump and announced “restructuring” and “layoffs” in the archdiocese, resulting from mounting sex abuse payouts. Among them is its Office of Black Ministries. According to the cardinal’s letter, “The restructuring is not a one-time event.” The fate of two initiatives connected with that office, the sainthood guild of Venerable Pierre Toussaint and the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship program is also unclear. Pierre Toussaint is one of six black American Catholics being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.

The cardinal must submit his “age-mandated retirement” next February; I hope the pope accepts it immediately.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has had an apparent conservative bent to it, stressing good things like the Eucharistic Congress and anti-abortion activities while cutting funding to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and allowing racial initiatives it had originally approved to idle for years. (I have specific examples from my notes of the weekend’s meeting.)

Pray for the leadership of our National Church.