I still feel the pain of what occurred more than 50 years ago, but the church—our church—has asked for forgiveness. I will give it another chance.
Black Catholics
Posted inFaith, News
Father George Clements, pioneering Chicago priest, dies
Father Clements, who was just the second African American priest ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago, was long involved in social justice issues affecting his hometown.
But it was the adoption of four boys—one at a time, starting in 1980—that led to his high profile on a national level. The saga—Father Clements was the first U.S. Catholic priest to adopt a child—eventually found its way to Hollywood as a made-for-TV movie.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Author Toni Morrison Honored at Public Memorial
At a public memorial service in the cathedral, the site of the funerals of James Baldwin and Duke Ellington, several friends of Ms. Morrison provided their recollections of her talent, warmth and sense of humor.
Posted inFaith, News Analysis
I reached out to every U.S. diocese. Here are the ones implementing the 2018 pastoral letter on racism.
I reached out by email to every diocese in the country and asked: Has your diocese started any new initiatives based on the 2018 pastoral letter on racism published by the U.S.C.C.B?
Posted inFaith, Short Take
How the church can recognize the legacy of slavery and move toward reconciliation
The U.S. Catholic Church still has work to do toward racial reconciliation, writes America associate editor Olga Segura, and this summer’s 1619 Project in The New York Times provides a template worth considering.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
There is time for the church to support black Catholics—if it has the will to do so
Systemic racism still haunts the U.S. Catholic Church, writes Tia Noelle Pratt. The church must strive to become a place for diverse peoples to come together.
Posted inArts & Culture, Your Take
America readers remember Toni Morrison
‘Who else has written so keenly and movingly about hope, evil, endurance, pain, greed, transcendence, all the things that make us human?’
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Toni Morrison made living in this world more bearable
Morrison’s work conveyed the pain, sacrifice and trauma that exemplifies so much of the African-American experience.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
Religious orders owning slaves isn’t new—black Catholics have emphasized this history for years
Black Catholics have been at the forefront of the push to get the Vatican to confront the church’s racist past and present.
Posted inFaith, Last Take
How one woman’s experience of trauma is bringing others back to the church
God hears our cries. In our misery and pain, she hears us. And in answering us, she calls us. Calls us to move past the pain, past the misery, to her warm embrace, to the peace that surpasses all understanding.