Authentically black and Catholic – with something to say about Pope Francis

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A Sunday service at St. Francis Xavier in Baltimore, where African-American Catholics have a rich history. (Marvin Joseph — The Washington Post)

It was a funny though welcome text message, congratulating me on “my” new pope. From 3,000 miles away, my friend knows how much my Catholic faith means to me and wanted to share the good news. Though she was raised Baptist and doesn’t really practice any religion now, she understood.

What did I think of Pope Francis? Wait and see, I told her. The church is wading through earthly and spiritual challenges, and this conservative pope likely won’t rock the theological boat. But I said I was impressed by his humility, his commitment to social justice and his Jesuit pedigree. When she asked what a religious order was exactly, I likened priests and nuns to baseball players, divided into different teams. (My New Yorker husband, educated as I was at a Jesuit university, bragged that St. Ignatius of Loyola’s crew would be the Yankees.)

Pope Francis is from this side of the world, a Latin American – an American – and that means something, though it’s too early to know exactly what.

It felt good to be a part of the discussion during such an important transition, in a church that has not always been so welcoming to black Catholics. Before I go to bed each night, I can gaze at the small, painted wooden shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe, so revered, especially among Hispanics. Bought during a visit to San Antonio, it is draped with rosaries, one my mother brought me from the Vatican and others carried with care as gifts from Fatima and Lourdes. Mary is my patron saint, after all.

I remember the New Year’s Day my husband, young son and I shared in St. Peter’s Square, listening to Pope John Paul II deliver his address in a host of languages while a cluster of excitable teens chanted “Papa.”

I have loved the church enough to criticize it, when it has been slow to heal the abused and punish the abusers, when it sent investigators to root out heresy among the nuns, or when clergy vowed to withhold the Eucharist as a weapon against politicians navigating private behavior and public obligation on the issue of abortion.

Yet as I watched the coverage of this new pope, touched by the sight of the crowds waiting for a first glance, I noted few interviews there or here with African-American Catholics whose rich history is woven through the growth of the church since its beginnings. The Archbishop of Atlanta, Wilton Gregory, former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, did offer his thoughts. But with fewer than 20 black bishops in the United States, the bench is not deep.

When so many speak of and to American Catholics, it is the descendants of immigrants who first come to mind — Irish, Italians, Poles and now Hispanics. That’s part of the picture, but it leads to an incomplete conversation.

Though African Americans make up just 3 percent of Catholics in this country, you wouldn’t know it from the depth of their devotion. When the National Gathering for Black Catholic Women met in Charlotte, N.C., a few years ago, the bishop in my city – no doubt mindful of a church in turmoil — seemed thrilled to be celebrating mass for hundreds of the faithful.

Growing up in Baltimore, home of the nation’s first cathedral and predominantly African-American parishes named for St. Peter Claver, St. Pius V, St. Francis Xavier and a roster of saints, our priests were Josephites, founded to minister to freed slaves. I thought most black people were Catholic. In grade school, my teachers continued the tradition of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first order of African-American nuns, founded in 1829 in Baltimore by Haitian-American Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange with the help of the Rev. James Hector Joubert. They pledged to educate excluded children of color, house orphans and tend to the sick and elderly, and the order still serves throughout the world. Efforts to elevate Mother Lange to sainthood have stalled for the moment, though maybe, it is hoped among those who care, we can pray her there. It worked for Elizabeth Seton, whose Daughters of Charity took over my education in high school.

My parents told us the story of St. Martin de Porres, and we learned about other saints of color – there are hundreds – and made our First Communion in pretty white dresses like little girls in churches across the world. But there were differences even then: the little things, like being shunned when participating in annual athletic contests against Catholic schools that were neighborhoods and worlds apart; the big things, like watching the humble Cardinal Lawrence Shehan heckled by working-class white Catholics, with race trumping religion, when he promoted fair housing and civil rights policies as the work of the Lord.

But if dealing with racist pushback was expected – isn’t that a sin many Americans of every faith share – having to explain the authenticity of my faith tradition grew tiresome. Leaving the Baltimore bubble, where in my circle every other kid wore a less-than-flattering school uniform, I was treated like a unicorn. “Since when did blacks become Catholic?” a supposedly well-educated work colleague in New York joked to a group of African-American women. Were the ashes we wore that funny?

Small triumphs brought some relief. On TV’s “Homicide,” Andre Braugher as ultimate Baltimore detective Frank Pembleton – Jesuit educated and angst ridden – brought back memories of home.

And things are changing. The babies being baptized in my home parish in Charlotte are evidence of the diversity all American Catholics have begun to embrace.

But we still hold that outsider status. You need only look at the American cardinals on the short list this time out, named Dolan and O’Malley as you might expect. The next black pope will more likely come from Ghana, not Georgia.

Those examining Catholicism at a crossroads need to seek out the voices of all the faithful who may doubt but have always believed. The word Catholic does after all mean “universal.”

Mary C. Curtis, an award-winning multimedia journalist in Charlotte, N.C., has worked at The New York Times, Charlotte Observer and as national correspondent for Politics Daily. Follow her on Twitter: @mcurtisnc3

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Faith and Family (After Divorce)

A new report from the Institute for American Values explores the complicated ways in which a child’s family structure, particularly the experience of parents’ divorce, can affect his or her religious practices as an adult. Coauthors Elizabeth Marquardt, Amy Ziettlow, and Charles E. Stokes emphasize the significance of their findings and recommendations on the Washington Post‘s ”Guest Voices” blog:

Numerous studies are now revealing that children of divorce overall are less religious when they grow up, with clear implications for the vitality of the churches. In one study, two-thirds of young adults who grew up in married parent families, compared to just over half who grew up in divorced families, say they are very or fairly religious. And, more than a third of people from married parent families currently attend religious services almost every week, compared to just a quarter of people from divorced families. Given that about one in four of today’s young adults are grown children of divorce, and that more than 40 percent of American children are now born outside of marriage, how these younger generations approach questions of spiritual meaning and religious involvement will influence broader trends in the churches for years to come.

The FamilyScholars blog is hosting a symposium (including a contribution from Helen Alvaré, whose writing we’ve mentioned before) on the report, the entirety of which is available online (PDF) but too long to summarize. Here are a few interesting excerpts, however, with page numbers referring to the PDF of the report. 

First, on whether the decline of religion caused the decline of marriage, or vice versa, the report notes (quoting the work of coauthor Charles Stokes):

Much of the early research linking religious decline with divorce suggested that the erosion of religion as a source of normative authority undermined the institutional support for marriage. More recent work, however . . . has pointed the causal arrow in the other direction, contending that the decline of marriage—marked by widespread divorce, but also including increases in non-marital child-bearing, cohabitation, and later ages at first marriage—has contributed to lower levels of religious affiliation and participation. (19)

Later, drawing on the work of Julie Rubio of St. Louis University, the coauthors describe children’s experience of their parents’ divorce from the perspective of Catholic theology:

The Catholic tradition holds the position that a validly contracted marriage between two baptized Christians is indissoluble. The claim is not that marriage should not end but rather than it cannot end. Once marriage begins with vows and is sealed with intimacy, the two persons become one flesh. . .

This theology recognizes in spiritual terms the biological reality of children and the lived experiences of parents who find that in having children they are ‘giving flesh’ to their own union. Even more so than in sexual intimacy, during which spouses become one flesh for a short time and then part (even as their feelings of unity may endure), when a child is conceived the child is a one-flesh union of his or her parents that cannot break in two.

Theologically, then, children whose parents divorce experience brokenness because the parental unity that they embody has been ruptured. Children can be distraught because they identify not just with each parent separately, but with their parents’ union. (30-31)

Finally, one cited study of adults’ religious practices suggests that “those from divorced families are no less interested in finding meaning, truth, or a connection with God or the transcendent than their counterparts from intact, happy marriages. However, those from divorced families do appear considerably more skeptical that established religious institutions or traditions can help them in that questâ€� (39).

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When Fiction Becomes Fact

“We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it.”

– Cardinal Timothy Dolan

If you can pry yourself away from NFL games for a little bit, you might notice there’s a great variety of entertainment in television and movie theaters this fall. There’s something rather shocking though – how many times a piece of entertainment seemingly unrelated to the “real world” in fact shows precisely what’s going on in our society. Take the newest selection of DVDs in stores. A sleeper hit from this summer, “For Greater Glory”, is now available on DVD. The film depicts the true story of Mexican peasants who revolted and took up arms in the 1920s, and was reviewed in one of my earlier Examiner columns.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like the type of story that Americans could related to. Yet the movie turned out to be extremely timely and relevant with its message, because what the Mexican government did in the 1920s began to appear eerily similar to the Obama administration’s Health Care mandate in 2012. Both were draconian laws that forced Catholic institutions to violate their own conscience. Writing in the Washington Post, film critic Lauren Markoe noted: “For Catholics enraged by the Obama administration’s proposed contraception mandate, the film about the Mexican church’s fight in 1920s is a heartening and timely cinematic boost in the American church’s battle to preserve ‘religious freedom in 2012”. Around the same time the movie came out this summer, the newly elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, noted, “We have become certain of two things: religious freedom is under attack, and we will not cease our struggle to protect it.”

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For those who haven’t seen the film yet and wonder what all the fuss is about, “For Greater Glory” is now coming to Chicagoland, and this time it’s available free of charge. The local chapters of the Knights of Columbus, along with the Respect Life Committee of St. Bernard’s parish in Homer Glen, are inviting the public to a free screening during a movie night they have arranged for later this week. It is especially being empathized for youth groups and Hispanics, but all are welcome to come.

The Diocese of Joliet, Ill. Is promoting the event on their website, stating: “This major motion picture tells the epic, untold story of the Cristero War in 1920′s Mexico and the nation’s quest for religious liberty. Come enjoy the all-star cast and hear the story that will resonate with you in light of current events. Bring your friends”. Most Rev. Michael J. Sheridan, Bishop of Colorado Springs, CO gives us a quote that nicely sums up why the film has gotten the buzz it has: “This deeply moving account of the Cristeros’ fight for the freedom of religion in Mexico is very much a story for our own times. The faith and courage of the Mexican martyrs—clergy and laity—makes us proud to be Catholics.” Advertisements for the movie screening are accompanied with an article for earlier this year entitled “What Mexico Teaches Us”, written Carl A. Anderson, and Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. I highly recommend it.

If you didn’t have a chance to see the film and theaters and you’re curious about it, then you, my faithful readers, should consider coming to St. Bernard’s as well – especially if you live in the far south part of Chicagoland where the movie screening will occur. Date and time is as follows:

See the movie “FOR GREATER GLORY”

Friday, October 5th—7 PM

St. Bernard’s Pastoral Center

13030 W. 143rd. St.
Homer Glen, IL 60491

There is no charge to attend.

For Greater Glory: St. Bernard’s Respect Life Committee along with the Knights of Columbus, are sponsoring the film For Greater Glory at St. Bernard’s Pastoral Center, 13030 W. 143rd St., Homer Glen. The movie night is free to all.

But perhaps historical dramas just aren’t your thing. Some of us like our film and television grounded in the true stories, like my mother does. Other people – like me – prefer escapist fantasy to take our minds off the dull and mundane real world. Such people enjoy viewing science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

One such well received television series – which unfortunately has now been canceled – was the recent remake of the classic sci-fi miniseries “V”. It was released on DVD just last year, and departs quite a bit from the 1983 original that it is loosely based on. But the premise is the same: a fleet of motherships from a distant planet arrive in Earth’s orbit, and hover above every major city on the planet. The aliens, who call themselves “the visitors”, seem to look just like us, but on the inside, it turns out they are actually reptilian creatures with a taste for live rats.

Of course, this is such an out-of-this-world premise (pun intended), you might be wondering what the heck it’s doing in a column about Catholic issues in Chicago. Certainly that has nothing to do with Catholicism, right? Think again. In both the original the 1980s V and the 2009-2010 remake, one of the heroes of the story is a Roman Catholic priest (Father Andrew Doyle in the original, Father Jack Landry in the remake) In both shows, the priest acts as a moral compass during the crisis of the invasion, and the television series address Catholic topics such as whether there is ever a just cause for war, and dealing with crisis’s like unplanned pregnancies. But even this plays second fiddle to a major plot point in the 2009 “V”, where the aliens motives and people’s reaction to them begins to eerily parallel the conflict between church and state in America and the battle over religious liberty today. One person reviewing the show found it uncomfortable, noting in his critique of the episode “Red Sky” . He wrote: “There is no wrath, after all, like an atheist socked in the face with preachy religious messages in the middle of a science fiction program that’s supposed to be about, well, science fiction, and I didn’t want to have a completely incoherent rant splashed all over search engines for the rest of time. “ What happened in the episode to distress him so much?

Over the course of the show, the characters begin to learn that the V’s intentions are often misleading and they are hiding their true goals. Much like our current government, the V’s argue that people are being paranoid and bigoted against them, and that they are scared of change when the V’s only want to help humanity by giving everyone access to free health care and bringing about a new era of peace. Catholic figures who question whether their policies are actually helping are swiftly attacked by major media outlets, who argue they are preaching “hate speech” against the V’s. One news reporter, Chad Decker, is convinced that the V’s “Healing Centers” cured him of a fatal aliment. But those who have researched the issue realize the facts. Father Jack Landry explains that the V’s actually induced the problem in the first place and then “cured” him of it to gain sympathy. He tells Chad, “Anna didn’t cure your aneurysm. She gave you one.” He then directs Chad to the area where the Visitors take the human guests “Live Aboards”. Chad finally realizes the evil of the V “health care”, as he witnesses firsthand the horrific testing being done on humans. Seeing the V’s drilling needles into people and torturing them makes him squeamish.

Father Jack Landry is constantly conflicted about whether to publicly speak out against the V’s, seeing how many people strongly support them and think they’re doing their best to help mankind when the Catholic Church stands in the way, but Fr. Landry realizes in the episode “Red Sky” he must abide by his conscience and do what is right, even if it means disobeying the orders of the church pastor who is sympathetic to the V’s. Fr. Landry’s concern is that people are turning away from God and increasingly seeing the V’s as God because of their mighty power and charisma. He speaks from his heart to his congregation with a homily entitled “The V’s as false prophets”. This is difficult in a Catholic Church, as many of the parishioner’s support the V’s in spite of their questionable actions. He tells them:

“I was lost, and now I am found. I lost the courage to tell you the truth, that you need to choose who you are going to follow—the V’s, or God? Because you can’t serve two masters… There is a war upon us, a war for our souls. With love, hope, and faith, we can overcome anything.”

When he begins to directly denounce the actions of the V’s, many parishioners walk out of St. Josephine’s Church, but some stay. Jack asks others to stand with him in this war for their souls, saying “Who among you will join me?” He notes:

“Let V no longer stand for Visitor, let V stand for Victory!”

By the time he has finished his homily, only about a dozen parishioners remain, scattered around the pews, but those who remain are standing in support of him. Although he is not a soldier, he proves he can be warrior through his faith. As a priest, he had a both a pulpit (literally) and an aura of moral authority. While the media is the mouthpiece of the V’s, he can be the public spokesman of the opposition.

Though they tell almost entirely different stories, both movies like “For Greater Glory” and television shows like “V” show us that Catholics are in a real war against the government for our very survival. In may not be a literal shooting war like we see on the screen, but the conflict is every bit as deadly and the stakes are just as high. What seems to be purely pieces of action and entertainment can teach us a lot about the problems of a government structure that does not see the sanctity of human life and understand the dignity of every human person, and a government that tries to impose its will and silence religion through bullying, scare tactics, name-calling, and raw force to coerce the public into supporting them and turning against Catholicism.

You may not have gotten a chance to see either of them first hand, but now with home video release, you can. “For Greater Glory” is expected to have a strong turnout for its screening at St. Bernard’s Church, and “V” is now available via live streaming on Netflix and other such sites. Both are certainly worth at least checking out once. When fiction becomes fact, what side will you take in the war?