Black and Catholic… Who are We?

BY VERY REV. KEVIN P. FAUSZ, CM, VU

HOLY REDEEMER CHURCH PASTOR

There is still a lot of questions and talk about being Black and Catholic.

What does that mean? We are now preparing to attend the National Black Catholic Congress XII. The theme for this Congress is “The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me: Act Justly, Love Goodness, and Walk Humbly with your God.” To prepare for Congress XII Bishop John H. Ricard, NBCC president, is asking that A Day of Reflection be held to adequately prepare and reflect for the upcoming Congress experience.

The documents we have received from the NBCC office to prepare for this Day of Reflection calls us as Black Catholics to break down all that separates us as Black Catholics so that every person can be loved as God intended. The documents go further to say that this should be our goal as we prepare for Congress XII — to generate ideas that encourage creativity, freedom and innovation — all aimed toward inspiring us to act justly, love goodness, and walk humbly with our God.

Holy Redeemer/Black Catholic Apostolate created last year a Black Lecture Series that was a beginning vehicle to help us better understand what it means to be Black and Catholic.

These events were open to the entire archdiocese. The Music Workshop experience led by M. Roger Holland II was an experience that anyone in attendance will never forget… Sister Eva Lumas got people’s attention with her knowledge and experience as a Black Woman Religious. And there was much more.

This year, we are going to continue the series with different presenters and focus on What it Means to be Black and Catholic. There will be more detailed information available as we finalize dates. As I have said before, “The African American Catholic Community has much to offer the larger church and community.” In the mosaic that makes up our Archdiocese of San Antonio and the church of Texas we need to learn about each others culture and recognize that we are all a part of this beautiful mosaic and not separate from.

Join us as we explore more about being Black and Catholic!